Friday, September 19, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review September 19 2025

 


Aloha Talk Like A Pirate Day!
International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a day for everyone to talk like a pirate, and it was thought up by John Baur and Mark Summers of Albany, Oregon. They were playing racquetball on June 6, 1995, when they began to talk like pirates. They decided there should be a holiday dedicated to pirate talk, and since they didn't want the day to coincide with D-Day, Mark came up with September 19 as its date, which was his ex-wife's birthday. It was not until 2002 that the day began to be celebrated on a larger scale, as Dave Barry wrote a column that brought the attention of the holiday beyond the purview of John and Mark's friends.

Orca mom carries dead newborn calf in San Juans
An endangered orca was spotted Friday carrying a dead newborn on her nose, umbilical cord still attached, between Orcas Island and Cypress Island in Washington state. 

A PNW bird is in mysterious decline. Two Salish Sea islands hold clues
In Washington, the tufted puffin has seen a 90% reduction in population in recent decades with fewer than 2,000 of the birds remaining on the West Coast. When Washington listed the species as endangered in 2015, the agency wrote that with the current rate of decline, the state’s population could be gone by 2055. 

4 years after Fairy Creek, a new battle over B.C.’s old-growth forests looms in the Walbran Valley
 A B.C. justice has granted an injunction against a group of people blocking a logging road on southern Vancouver Island. The decision paves the way for the RCMP to move in. 

Feds greenlight killing more sea lions to protect endangered salmon as controversy fades 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service renewed a 2020 permit that had allowed the removal of 540 California sea lions and 176 Steller sea lions from Bonneville Dam and Willamette Falls. 

Canada calls this newly approved LNG project green. For now, it will run on fossil fuels
Despite being touted as a clean energy project, B.C.’s Ksi Lisims LNG will likely run on fossil fuels for years before hydro power reaches the site. Matt Simmons reports. 

Robert Redford remembered for his deep legacy in environmental activism and Native American advocacy
Fellow actors and leaders of the causes he fought for spoke of his unusually deep legacy, his fight for Native Americans and the environment that began at the height of his stardom.  

Youth, scientists, argue for court to halt Trump executive orders 'unleashing' fossil fuel industry 
F
or the second time in two years a youth-led lawsuit challenging the government’s role in climate change is seeing the inside of a Montana courtroom. 

In an unprecedented warning, leading climate think-tank says Canada won't meet 2030 climate target 
Years of progress on bringing Canada's carbon emissions down have stalled, and future progress looks increasingly fragile, according to an early 2024 emissions estimate from the Canadian Climate Institute (CCI).


These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe at no cost to the weekday news clips, send your name and email to msato(at)salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Friday, September 12, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review September 12 2025

 

Flipper the Dolphin

Aloha Dolphin Friday!
A dolphin is a common name used for some of the aquatic mammals in the cetacean clade Odontoceti, the toothed whales. Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae, along with the river dolphin families Platanistidae, Iniidae, Pontoporiidae, and probably extinct Lipotidae. There are 40 extant species named as dolphins.

Musqueam to appeal Cowichan Tribes ruling on Aboriginal title
The Musqueam Indian Band is the latest government to announce its plans to appeal the recent B.C. Supreme Court decision that found another First Nation government holds Aboriginal title for land and fishing rights in an area of Metro Vancouver. 

Warming seas threaten key phytoplankton species that fuels the food web, study finds
For decades, scientists believed Prochlorococcus, the smallest and most abundant phytoplankton on Earth, would thrive in a warmer world. But new research suggests the microscopic bacterium, which forms the foundation of the marine food web and helps regulate the planet’s climate, will decline sharply as seas heat up. 

Who’s keeping an eye on B.C.’s oil and gas boom? Fewer people than you might think
Internal documents show inspectors lack training to manage long-term contamination, raising questions about oversight across the province

B.C. orders forage farmers to stop using water to protect endangered chinook salmon
The order applies to 490 users in the Salmon River and Bessette Creek watersheds, including farmers who grow grass, alfalfa and corn. 

WA pink salmon populations surge in some Puget Sound areas, stagnant in others
The Puget Sound region is anticipating a substantial increase in pink salmon returns for 2025, with forecasts predicting a total of 7.76 million fish. This figure represents a 70% rise from the 10-year cycle average and is expected to be the third-largest return on record. 

Invasive emerald ash borer has reached Portland, dooming ash trees 
An invasive, tree-killing pest has made its way to Portland, spelling trouble for the many ash trees that cool residential neighborhoods on hot summer days. Forestry officials say Oregon will lose 99% of its ash trees to this pest in time. 

How much have fossil fuel giants contributed to heat waves such as B.C.'s heat dome?
The deadly 2021 heat wave over B.C. was an estimated 2.3 degrees hotter because of climate change, says a new study.

Trump Moves to Scrap Biden Rule That Protected Public Lands
The proposal from the Bureau of Land Management would prioritize the use of public lands for oil and gas drilling, coal mining and other industrial activities. Maxine Joselow reports. (NY Times) 


These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe at no cost to the weekday news clips, send your name and email to msato(at)salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Friday, September 5, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review September 5 2025

 

Skagit Helping Hands [Nichole Long]

Aloha Food Bank Friday!
National Food Bank Day was created in 2017, to commemorate fifty years since the founding of St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, the first food bank in the world, and to "recognize the outstanding contributions of food banks around the country".St. Mary's was founded by John ven Hengel in 1967, and its mission is to "alleviate hunger through the gathering and distribution of food while encouraging self-sufficiency, collaboration, advocacy and education."


Wildfire retardants help stop fires — but also impact ecosystems
In the rush to put out wildfires, hundreds of millions of litres of fire retardant are dropped on forests across North America. New research shows the effects they can have on water and ecosystems — especially when accidents happen. 

 Way of Masks and Totem Pole Journey.
 Se'Si'Le, House of Tears Carvers and partnering NGOs present "Way of the Masks and Totem Pole Journey" events Sept.6-20 to narrate the interrelatedness of Treaty rights and inherent rights, Indigenous ways of knowing nature and environmental justice, healthy rivers and salmon habitat, spiritual and ecological balance, and ancient forests and climate resilience. Sept. 6, Bellingham; Sept. 8, Olympia, are Washington events. Information. 

Trump administration cancels $679 million for offshore wind projects at ports
The Trump administration is cancelling $679 million in federal funding for ports to support the country's offshore wind industry, the latest move in President Trump's ongoing campaign against wind power. 

Scientists Denounce Trump Administration’s Climate Report
More than 85 American and international scientists have condemned a Trump administration report that calls the threat of climate change overblown, saying the analysis is riddled with errors, misrepresentations and cherry-picked data to fit the president’s political agenda. 

Smoketember Is Rolling In. Here’s How to Protect Yourself 
There is no safe level of exposure to wildfire smoke. 

WA plan to conserve 77,000 acres of older forests draws fire 
Washington loggers, school leaders and conservation activists on Wednesday decried the state lands commissioner’s proposal to set aside 77,000 acres of older forests while opening 29,000 acres back up for logging.  Some said the plan, announced by Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove last week, didn’t do enough to protect the state’s older forests, while others said it would lead to layoffs, business closures and delay of critical school construction projects. 

Why Trans Mountain wants to expand when the oil pipeline isn't even full
A little more than one year after completing construction of the Trans Mountain expansion oil pipeline, the Crown corporation is pursuing two different methods to increase how much oil can be exported. The pipeline is operating at about 80%, while tankers are only 70% full.  


These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe at no cost to the weekday news clips, send your name and email to msato(at)salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Friday, August 29, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 29 2025


Aloha Friday Before Labor Day!
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements in the United States. (Wikipedia)

Victoria area in B.C. breaks over 100-year-old temperature record amid hot spell 
Lytton records high of 38.6 C as temperature records broken throughout province. 

B.C. recreational anglers get rare chance to reel in sockeye amid bumper salmon run
Fisheries and Oceans Canada opens recreational fishing for species on stretch of Fraser River for limited time. 

Trump administration halts work on an almost-finished wind farm
The Trump administration has ordered companies to stop construction of a wind farm that's being built off the coast of Rhode Island. 

Frustrated Commercial Fishers Are Hungry for More Sockeye
This year’s huge Fraser salmon return is lifting spirits. And raising questions about how DFO sets catch limits. 

WA to conserve 77,000 acres of older forests on state lands
The move is in line with promises Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove made while campaigning. Timber industry groups and some activists fighting to save “legacy forests” were both unhappy with the outcome. 

Ferguson pauses approval of major solar project in central Washington
The governor wants the Carriger Solar project to proceed, but not until the Yakama Nation has more time to weigh in on cultural resource protections. 

Trump administration advances plan to reverse federal rule that limits logging in national forests
The ‘Roadless Rule’ has prohibited new road construction, a prerequisite for large-scale logging, on vast swaths of federal land since 2001. 

Steven Cook, a Former Chemical Industry Lawyer, Now at E.P.A., Wants to Change PFAS Rules 
A Trump appointee has proposed rewriting a measure that requires companies to clean up “forever chemicals,” documents show. The new version would shift costs from polluters. 

Ten years of confronting a costly green crab invasion in Puget Sound
Since that first discovery, nearly nine years ago, green crabs have spread to more than 30 trapping sites throughout the northern half of Puget Sound and Hood Canal. 


These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe at no cost to the weekday news clips, send your name and email to msato(at)salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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Friday, August 22, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 22 2025



Aloha Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker, born on this day in 1893, was an American poet, literary critic and writer of fiction, plays and screenplays based in New York; she was known for her caustic wisecracks, and eye for 20th-century urban foibles. Quotable Parker.

Drought is a big problem in Canada — and it’s getting worse
A rush of water-hungry AI data centres is just one reason to rethink industrial water use, as drought becomes a real, year-round problem across Canada. 

DNR’s Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove met with Squaxin Island Tribe chairman Kris Peters to sign an order creating the Squaxin Island Kelp Protection Zone, in an effort to bring the kelp bed and others around Puget Sound back to full health. 

UW lab's seaweed-infused cement could slash carbon emissions
Cement is the source of as much as 10% of all carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. That’s according to materials scientists at the University of Washington who are aiming to reduce that carbon footprint, by adding seaweed to the mix. 

Study finds impacts of colonization destroyed nearly 90% of Burrard Inlet food ecosystems 
A new research study, in partnership with the sÉ™l̓ilwÉ™taɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation and the University of B.C., has found the impacts of colonization from as early as 1750, including smallpox, overfishing and industrialization, destroyed nearly 90 per cent of the food systems and sources in the Burrard Inlet in Metro Vancouver. 

Salmon habitat is destroyed for development. Is it possible to replace what’s lost?
A human-constructed marsh in B.C.’s Fraser River was meant to mimic natural feeding and breeding grounds. Offset projects can succeed — if someone sticks around to care for them. 

 Well-known orca dies in Johnstone Strait surrounded by family, dolphins
There was no immediate word on what caused the death of the killer whale known as I76, but threats to the species include lack of prey, toxin accumulations and vessel impacts. 

BC’s Coastal Fires Have Entered a New Era
The Mount Underwood fire near Port Alberni wasn’t your typical Vancouver Island blaze. But what is normal is changing. Thanks to droughts and heat waves, tiny fires that crews were once able to extinguish in a matter of hours are now ballooning into major blazes. 

Monsanto settles with over 200 exposed to chemicals in Monroe school 
This week’s announcement marks the largest, and only significant, PCB personal injury settlement since Monsanto was acquired by Bayer Pharmaceuticals in 2018, Bayer said. And it appears to be among the largest, if not the largest, PCB settlement stemming from a single site containing the pollutant.  



These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe at no cost to the weekday news clips, send your name and email to msato(at)salishseacom.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

 

Friday, August 15, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 15 2025


Aloha Woodstock Friday!
The iconic music festival, popularly known as Woodstock, opened on this day in 1969 in Bethel, New York at the 600-acre farm of farmer Max B. Yasgur. Over 450,000 people attended the festival, and the festival has become widely regarded as a pivotal moment in popular music history, as well as a defining event for the silent and baby boomer generations.

Rising electric bills: How states are tackling Big Tech's energy demands 
Amid rising electric bills, states are under pressure to insulate regular household and business ratepayers from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers. 

Site C dam energy project now fully operational, B.C. Hydro says
Power utility says sixth and final generating unit on hydroelectric megaproject in northeast B.C. now online. 

AI images of B.C. wildfire fuel misinformation
Experts warn of a 'supercharged' era of misinformation, as AI-generated images—including over a half-dozen found by BIV—are increasingly shared on social media. 

B.C. to appeal landmark Aboriginal title ruling over Fraser River land in Metro Vancouver
The most recent Indigenous rights and title ruling in B.C. is heading back to court after the province released a statement saying it plans to appeal the decision.

Plight of the Bumblebees
A journey into the wild and not-so-wild world of bumblebees and the unintended consequences of domestication. 

Gen Z wants to work outside, but PNW conservation jobs are vanishing 
Young people, eager to work outside, are facing the fallout of cuts to federal programs that have developed the next generation of workers for decades.

People often make wrong climate choices, a study says. One surprise is owning a dog
A study recently published by the National Academy of Sciences found that when asked to rank actions, such as swapping a car that uses gasoline for an electric one, carpooling or reducing food waste, participants weren’t very accurate when assessing how much those actions contributed to climate change. 

The Fraser’s Impressive Sockeye Returns Prompt Fishery Openings 
Wild salmon lovers in the province are expressing cautious optimism as Fraser River sockeye returns significantly exceed expectations.

Restoring the natural order
The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians partners with natural resource groups to resurrect the Stillaguamish River delta. Eliza Aronson reports. 

Seeing the Fungi for the Trees
Mycorrhizal fungi help plants thrive, and sequester a lot of carbon. But a new atlas shows these climate warriors need urgent protection. 


These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe at no cost to the weekday news clips, send your name and email to msato(at)salishseacom.com .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

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Friday, August 8, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 8 2025




Aloha Zucchini Friday!
Zucchini is a summer squash with a thin, dark, or light green skin. There also is the golden zucchini, a deep yellow or orange hybrid. The lineage of zucchini, like all squash, starts in America, but zucchini was developed in Italy in the second half of the nineteenth century. Cucurbits were introduced to Italy in the sixteenth century, and the zucchini developed from them. In fact, the name "zucchini" comes from the Italian word for squash: zucca. Zucchini was introduced to the United States in the 1920s, likely being brought there by Italian immigrants.

Baker River sockeye storm back in record run — overcoming 2 dams 
At least an estimated 90,000 sockeye will return from their high-seas journey to feed the land, forest, bears, osprey, human families — and spawn the next generation. It was an extensive intervention over decades after Puget Sound Energy’s largest hydropower operation nearly drove these fish to extinction. 

How Trump Is Transforming the U.S. Government’s Environmental Role 
The E.P.A. said this week it would revoke its own ability to fight climate change. It’s the latest move in an extraordinary pivot away from science-based protections. 

LOTT Clean Water Alliance wants to make wastewater drinkable. Are you ready for that?
The wastewater utility in downtown Olympia that treats millions of gallons of sewer water per day, in partnership with the South Puget Sound Community College’s brewing and distilling program, aims to use about 500 gallons of that treated water to make beer and other beverages for the public to try.

Unmasking the Sea Star Killer
After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s West Coast. Does that mean scientists can save them? 

Two WA oil refineries fined over $1.3M each for mishandling of sludge and acid waste
Washington’s Department of Ecology said Tuesday that HF Sinclair would be penalized $1,303,000 and Tesoro $1,397,000 for violations of dangerous waste laws. Both companies run refineries located in Anacortes. 

Another B.C. fault can produce megathrust earthquakes
Confirming the megathrust fault line off Haida Gwaii offers a path to improve tsunami modelling in a zone that has produced Canada's two largest recorded earthquakes. 

Mount Polley Can Continue Tailings Expansion, BC Supreme Court Says
A B.C. Supreme Court justice has dismissed the Xatśūll First Nation’s request to overturn a provincial decision allowing the expansion of the Mount Polley mine’s tailings facility. 

Great Barrier Reef records largest annual coral loss in 39 years
The Great Barrier Reef has experienced its greatest annual loss of live coral across most of its expanse in four decades of record-keeping, Australian authorities say. 



These news clips are a selection of weekday clips collected in Salish Sea News and Weather which is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe at no cost to the weekday news clips, send your name and email to msato(at)salishseacom.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