4/16 Basket star, orca calf, PFAS limits, Robert Bullard, kelp forests

Basket star [Seattle Aquarium]

Basket star Asteronychidae
Basket stars are echinoderms (pronounced uh-KAI-nuh-durmz). These marine invertebrates, meaning animals without backbones, belong to the phylum Echinodermata and are characterized by a hard, spiny covering or skin. Basket stars are found all over the world, in the coldest areas of the ocean at depths up to 6,200 feet, as well as in warmer, tropical waters at about 30 feet below the surface. The species at the Seattle Aquarium, Gorgonocephalus eucnemis, is found in the Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea to southern California, parts of the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean. (Seattle Aquarium)

Today's top story in Salish Current: Keeping wheat’s story — and profits — local

Orphaned B.C. orca may be eating fish, vet says, as rescuers plan new strategy
Rescue crews have been regrouping and planning a new strategy after being outsmarted by the orca last week, but no date had been set for the next attempt. (Canadian Press)  Watch: Up close with orca rescue team in B.C. (CBC)

Washington to adopt new U.S. PFAS limits, but may take two years
The Washington Department of Health plans to lower the limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced new lower limits on Wednesday. Donna Gordon Blankinship reports. (Cascade PBS)

Why environmental justice matters, from the founder himself
You might think of environmental justice as an old concept, old as the environmental movement itself. Surely, you say, the father of environmental justice is long gone, his lessons passed down through generations, his legacy enshrined in the marbled annals of history. But you’d be wrong.  Robert Bullard— the father of environmental justice— is very much alive and active.  Bullard is a distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University and director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice. Conrad Swanson reports. (Seattle Times)

Exploring the Forests of the Sea
Under ocean waves, kelp functions much like a forest ecosystem on land. What are we doing to protect it? Paul Tullis reports. (Hakai Magazine)

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  302 AM PDT Tue Apr 16 2024    
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM PDT THIS MORNING    
TODAY  W wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 5 ft at  8 seconds.  
TONIGHT  W wind 10 to 20 kt easing to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 1 to 3 ft. W swell 4 ft at 8 seconds.

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