1/17 Ladybug, snow, WA cap-and-trade, 'administrative state' suit, cold hummers, RCMP tactics, TC Energy carveouts, Klamath Dam removal, new BC ferries

Thirteen-Spot Lady Beetle [Bird Watching HQ]

 

Thirteen-Spot Lady Beetle Hippodamia tredecimpunctata
This ladybug is found primarily in wet meadows and marshes, lakeshores, and flood plains in Washington. The Thirteen-spot Lady Beetle is typically found on grass or small shrubs. This ladybug prefers to eat aphids off dry, rough vegetation. However, they also feed on reeds, rotten hay, and under peeled-off bark. Since they are a northern species, they are only active from May through September. (Bird Watching HQ)

Many schools closed, commuters warned to prepare as snow blankets southwest B.C. (CBC)  Snow blankets lowland Whatcom County. Freezing rain is possible (Bellingham Herald)

Voters to decide on repeal of Washington cap-and-trade program
The fate of Washington’s primary program to combat climate change will be in the hands of voters to uphold or reject this November. Initiative 2117, certified for the ballot on Tuesday, would erase the two-year-old Climate Commitment Act. The law imposes annual limits on greenhouse gas emissions for major emitters, such as oil refiners and utilities, and requires them to buy allowances at state auctions for each metric ton of their pollution. Jerry Cornfield reports. (Washington State Standard)

This humble fish may help the Supreme Court weaken the ‘administrative state’
In a pair of cases involving herring fishermen, conservative justices could toss out the precedent known as Chevron, which gives power to federal government agencies. Ann E. Marimow reports. (Washington Post)

Extreme cold leading to 'dramatic increase' in injured hummingbirds, says rescue organisation
Bitterly cold temperatures in southern British Columbia have prompted a "dramatic increase" in the number of hummingbird admissions to the Wildlife Rescue Association of B.C. The association says 33 hummingbirds were admitted last weekend alone with injuries caused by the cold. (Canadian Press)

Dogs, Snipers and Axes: Inside the RCMP’s Actions in Wet’suwet’en Territory
RCMP officers considered shooting a security camera and sending a police dog to pull people out of a small structure as they moved to make arrests on Wet’suwet’en territory in November 2021, according to testimony in a B.C. Supreme Court hearing.  Amanda Follett Hosgood reports. (The Tyee)

This Canadian pipeline giant wants an exemption from climate rules
Internal government memos show TC Energy lobbied for carveouts exempting methane and LNG plants from one of Canada’s key climate policies targeting the oil and gas industry. Carl Meyer reports. (The Narwhal)

No turning back: The largest dam removal in U.S. history begins
(Jan. 13) The largest dam removal in U.S. history entered a critical phase this week, with the lowering of dammed reservoirs on the Klamath River. On Thursday, the gate on a 16-foot-wide bypass tunnel at the base of Iron Gate dam, the lowest of those slated to be removed, was opened from a crack to 36 inches.  Erik Neumann and Juliet Grable report. (Jefferson Public Radio, NPR)

Four more Island-class ferries to be built in Romania
B.C. Ferries has signed a deal with a Netherlands-based company to supply four new hybrid electric Island-class ferries by 2027. The ferries, the first in the fleet to rely fully on battery power, will be built in Romania by Damen Shipyards Group, which built the first six Island-class ferries, also at its Romanian yard. Carla Wilson reports. (Times Colonist)

Have you read the Salish Current? 
Independent, fact based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties. Free to read, free from ads. Read the latest weekly newsletter here.

Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  227 AM PST Wed Jan 17 2024    
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PST THIS MORNING  
GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE  THURSDAY NIGHT    
TODAY  E wind 15 to 25 kt becoming NW 5 to 15 kt in the  afternoon. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft subsiding to 1 to 2 ft in the  afternoon. SW swell 3 ft at 11 seconds. Rain in the morning then  a slight chance of rain in the afternoon.  
TONIGHT  NE wind 5 to 15 kt becoming E 15 to 25 kt after  midnight. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft building to 2 to 4 ft after  midnight. SW swell 6 ft at 10 seconds. A chance of rain in the  evening.

---


"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. It is included as a daily feature in the Salish Current newsletter. Click here to subscribe. Questions? Email mikesato772 (@) gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.



Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate



Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told