5/2 Electricity demand, NW rivers, Monsanto PCB suit, Klamath undammed, 'flotel' nixed, Duckabush estuary, baby boom

American coot [Daniel Irons]

 

American coot Fulica americana
The waterborne American Coot is one good reminder that not everything that floats is a duck. A close look at a coot—that small head, those scrawny legs—reveals a different kind of bird entirely. Their dark bodies and white faces are common sights in nearly any open water across the continent, and they often mix with ducks. But they’re closer relatives of the gangly Sandhill Crane and the nearly invisible rails than of Mallards or teal. [All About Birds]

Today's top story in Salish Current: New funding to build farmworker housing in the Pacific Northwest, nationwide

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Electricity demand in Northwest projected to grow 30% in decade
Electricity demand in the Northwest is expected to grow more than 30% in the next decade, or about 5% more than estimated last year and triple the prediction three years ago, industry experts said in a new report. Large data centers, an increase in high-tech manufacturing and growing electrification in homes, buildings and transportation are key factors in the forecast. The projections are in an annual report published Wednesday by the Portland-based industry trade group Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee. Alex Baumhardt report. (Washington State Standard)

Rivers are the West’s largest source of clean energy. What happens when drought strikes?
With rivers across the West running low, utilities must get creative if they are to meet demand without increasing emissions. Syris Valentine reports. (Grist)

Court overturns $185M verdict for Monsanto PCBs at Monroe school
In a complex 78-page ruling Wednesday, the state Court of Appeals found a trial court misapplied state laws in the landmark case. Jake Goldstein-Street reports. (Everett Herald)

Trans Mountain pipeline expansion gets green light to open for May 1
The company says the first tanker with crude pumped through upgraded pipeline will leave Burnaby in mid-May. Amanda Stephenson reports. (Canadian Press)

Undamming the Klamath
The Klamath Tribes in southern Oregon have not seen salmon, much less been able to fish for them, for over a century now, ever since seven dams in the Klamath Basin were erected as part of PacifiCorp’s Klamath Hydroelectric Project. The dams, which were built between 1911 and 1962, reshaped the way the river flows, preventing fish passage and denying the Native nations access to an essential resource. Nika Bartoo-Smith reports. (ICT)

Woodfibre LNG 'floatel' permit rejected by Squamish council
Floating temporary worker accommodation proposed as part of LNG facility construction near Squamish. (CBC)

Open house set for estuary project
An open house for the Duckabush Estuary Restoration Project is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Brinnon Community Center. The project to reconnect the Duckabush River estuary with historical tidelands and river channels will eventually have a 1,600-foot span of U.S. Highway 101 rebuilt as an elevated bridge to allow for wildlife passage and accommodate for tidal and flood waters. Peter Segall reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Peeking into the Ocean’s Microscopic Baby Boom
The northeast Pacific Ocean is home to an astonishing array of marine creatures—spiky urchins, multiarmed sea stars, soft sea slugs the color of lemons, and barnacles with their heads glued to rocks. Strolling the seashore or diving below the ocean’s surface, we can see the adult forms of these creatures, but what about their earlier stages? Before they settled down—literally—and moved to the seafloor, almost all started life as zooplankton, marine fauna adrift on the ocean’s currents. Kelly Fretwell and Adrienne Mason write. (Hakai Magazine) https://hakaimagazine.com/videos-visuals/peeking-into-the-oceans-microscopic-baby-boom/

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Here's your tug weather—
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  238 AM PDT Thu May 2 2024    
TODAY  NE wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 2 ft  at 8 seconds.  
TONIGHT  W wind to 10 kt becoming SE after midnight. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 7 seconds.

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"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.



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