Salish Sea Communications

Friday, June 27, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review June 27 2025

Aloha IWW Day
Industrial Workers of the World Day commemorates the day in 1905 when a group of organizers who would become the IWW had their first meeting. The IWW, whose members were sometimes known as "Wobblies", have been one of the more radical labor unions in the United States, and have had ties to anarchists and socialists. The goal of the IWW was to form "One Big Union" with workers from different industries and trades, and to break down the barriers between race and sex to unite all workers in a common cause.

Scientists warn that greenhouse gas accumulation is accelerating and more extreme weather will come
Humans are on track to release so much greenhouse gas in less than three years that a key threshold for limiting global warming will be nearly unavoidable, according to a study to be released Thursday. The report predicts that society will have emitted enough carbon dioxide by early 2028 that crossing an important long-term temperature boundary will be more likely than not.

Researchers aim to fill data gaps about Dungeness crab amid concerns of declining population
Lauren Krzus, a research technician at the Hakai Institute, says they're hearing anecdotally that Dungeness crab stocks are declining, and says climate change is poised to further impact them. Dungeness Crab light trapping project aims to fill knowledge gaps about larvae.

Trump Administration to End Protections for 58 Million Acres of National Forests
The Trump administration said on Monday that it would open up 58 million acres of back country in national forests to road construction and development, removing protections that had been in place for a quarter century. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the Clinton-era rule barring road construction and logging was outdated and “absurd.”

Killer whales seen grooming each other with kelp in first for marine tool use
A group of killer whales, which are also known as orcas, have been biting off short sections of bull kelp and then rolling these stems between their bodies, possibly to remove dead skin or parasites. The behavior is the first such documented mutual grooming in marine animals and is outlined in a new scientific paper.

Judge un-freezes environmental justice funds for Northwest
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to release $180 million in federal funding for environmental justice projects, including $60 million in the Pacific Northwest.

Uncovering the Secrets of BC’s Controversial Trawl Fishers
Dragging nets along the ocean floor is like ‘clearcutting an old-growth forest,’ Pacific Wild says. An industry group disagrees.

New paper continues debate over link between lice from salmon farms and B.C. wild salmon
A new paper on sea lice from fish farms and wild salmon in B.C. shows a significant relationship between the two and critics say that contradicts a report from the federal government, which regulates the fish farms.

Western Canadian glaciers melting twice as fast as they did a decade ago, research shows
Researcher says loss is equivalent to a billion pickup trucks worth of water annually.

How Wildfires Are Speeding the Shrinking of BC’s Glaciers
Researchers with a new study on smoke and the ‘ice albedo effect’ are startled by the quick pace of melting.

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, June 20, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review June 20 2025

Aloha Summer Solstice
The First Day of Summer, also known as the Summer Solstice, takes place when either of the Earth's poles reaches their maximum tilt towards the Sun. This happens twice a year, once in each hemisphere. The First Day of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is on the June solstice, with the season running until the September equinox, while the First Day of Summer in the Southern Hemisphere is on the December solstice, with the season running until the March equinox.

The president just unraveled years of work on tribal rights, salmon and clean energy. So what happens next?
Less than two years ago, the administration of President Joe Biden announced what tribal leaders hailed as an unprecedented commitment to the Native tribes whose ways of life had been devastated by federal dam-building along the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest...The agreement is now just another of those broken promises.

Washington’s climate pollution data slow to see light of day, despite new law
In Washington state, it is hard to know how well climate solutions are working. The state takes up to four years to disclose whether it is keeping its promise—and legal mandate—to slash its climate-damaging pollution.

Wildfire Smoke May Be Disrupting Ocean Carbon Storage
New research from the University of British Columbia reveals that wildfires could be fundamentally altering how our oceans store carbon, potentially turning a crucial climate ally into a source of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Many Hoped Senate Republicans Would Save Clean Energy. They Mostly Didn’t.
A Senate tax package softens some blows imposed on renewables by a House version of the bill. But it still terminates many credits for clean power.

A Canadian company is first in line as Trump vows to fast-track deep-sea mining
The bottom of the ocean is rich with minerals — as well as life forms scientists haven’t even named yet. Vancouver-based The Metals Company is asking for American permission to mine in international waters.

Banning plastic bags works to limit shoreline litter, study finds
Using crowdsourced data from shore cleanups, researchers found that areas that enacted plastic bag bans or fees had fewer bags littering their lakes, rivers and beaches than those without them.

A Spanish Lagoon Was Granted Legal Personhood. Then What Happened?
The protection of Mar Menor was a huge step for the pioneering Rights of Nature movement. But three years on, little has changed.

Trouble in the Headwaters: the hidden impacts of clear-cut logging in B.C.
New documentary follows a scientist on a mission to prove industrial forestry is implicated in a cycle of flooding, landslides and drought. Jacqueline Ronson reports.

Friday, June 13, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review June 13 2025

Aloha World Softball Day
Softball is popular around the world, particularly in the United States. It is a variation of baseball, where the field is smaller and there are only 7 innings. It contrasts with baseball in that the ball is larger, usually 12 inches in circumference, and pitching is underhand, not overhand or sidearm. Slow-pitch softball is a common version of the game. The game is derived from indoor baseball, which was first played in 1887 in Chicago. Early on, softball was also known as kitten ball, diamond ball, playground ball, mush ball, and indoor-outdoor.

Skagit River dams relicensing process again granted extension
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently issued a temporary annual license to Seattle city Light to operate the dams from May 2025 until April 2026. The utility has requested and been approved for extensions in February 2024, January 2025 and June 2025.

Northwest tribes: Treaties mean Trump can’t ax salmon funding
Northwest tribal officials say the Trump administration’s latest budget proposal would violate their treaty rights to catch salmon.

PNW leaders warn that federal cuts could hurt salmon recovery
A leaked Trump administration budget proposal completely scraps a key Columbia River salmon recovery program as the administration seeks to slash the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration budget.

Washington scientists say ‘brain drain’ has begun as researchers consider moving abroad amid Trump cuts
Washington state and the rest of the nation face a “brain drain” with the potential exodus of scientists, which could impact domestic medical innovation for generations to come.

‘Horrific impacts’: as B.C. prepares to fast-track projects, a mining watchdog warns past mistakes could be repeated
Mining regulations and environmental assessments were developed to protect the environment and public health and safety. If projects are allowed to forego those processes, B.C. could set the stage for catastrophic impacts.

US Justice Department says Trump can cancel national monuments
Lawyers for President Donald Trump’s administration say he has the authority to abolish national monuments meant to protect historical and archaeological sites across broad landscapes, including two in California created by his predecessor at the request of Native American tribes.

The Potential and Perils of AI for Conservation
AI can help experts sift through datasets that are otherwise unmanageable, but the technology threatens to undermine other ways of knowing.

A century of warming has reduced dissolved oxygen in Puget Sound
A University of Washington study outlines the strong link between dissolved oxygen declines and increasing water temperatures, raising questions about the effect of future climate change on Puget Sound.

New honey bee energy bar tested in Washington offers hope for struggling hives

An international team, including researchers at Washington State University, has developed a new supplemental food source that could keep hives strong when deployed on agricultural land.

Friday, June 6, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review June 6 2025

Remembering D-Day —Defeat Fascists, Destroy Dictators

On 6 June 1944 – 'D-Day' – Allied forces launched the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. Codenamed Operation 'Overlord', the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy marked the start of a long and costly campaign to liberate north-west Europe from Nazi occupation.

Loss of USGS program could hamper salmon research critical for Puget Sound
About 1,200 scientists work in the biological arm of the United States Geological Survey, known as the Ecosystems Mission Area. President Trump’s budget would likely eliminate their work nationwide, if passed as proposed. That includes some work that is crucial to saving salmon in Puget Sound.

Most of Western Canada's glaciers 'doomed' to disappear, researchers find
Climate change has locked in at least 75% of glacier loss in Western Canada and U.S., raising concerns for downstream environments, electricity generation and the wider economy.

Trump Administration to Open Alaska Wilderness to Drilling and Mining
The Interior Department plans to repeal Biden-era protections across the state’s ecologically sensitive North Slope.

Shipping vessels agree to slow down in B.C. waterways to protect whales
The Vancouver Port Authority says numerous shipping companies have agreed to slow down until November to protect the endangered whale species swimming in the nearby waterways.

Pollution rules targeted by EPA are projected to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives
When the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a wide-ranging rollback of environmental regulations, he said it would put a “dagger through the heart of climate-change religion” and introduce a “Golden Age” for the American economy. What Lee Zeldin didn’t mention: how ending the rules could have devastating consequences to human health.

Did Congress just revoke WA’s gas car ban?
As goes California, so goes Washington. At least in the realm of vehicle-emissions standards. That’s why Congress’ move to revoke a waiver for California under the federal Clean Air Act last month also jerked back Washington’s ability to mandate the sale of electric and hybrid cars by next decade.

Friday, May 30, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review May 30 2025

Aloha Sun Ra

Sun Ra, who died on this day in 1993, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led The Arkestra, an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up. (Wikipedia)

How we pushed the Columbia, the great river of the West, to its limit
Changes made by humans have pushed this river to the brink. We’ve hammered the habitat. Overfished the salmon. Mismanaged hatcheries. And most of all, harnessed the immense power of this river, turning its cold, fast waters to miles of warm, slackwater reservoirs.

Snow melting fast in WA, American West
On the heels of a winter that left Washington’s mountaintops relatively bare, warm spring temperatures are melting off remaining snowpack far earlier than normal, heightening drought concerns across the state.

GOP megadonor planning new round of initiatives on taxes, parents' rights
Brian Heywood, the founder of Let’s Go Washington, has filed new proposals to curb property taxes, create a new school choice funding program, target trans student athletes, and repeal the state Legislature’s recent changes to the “parents’ rights” law.

Grizzly reintroduction to North Cascades stalls
The plan was approved last summer, but some northeast Washington residents say their concerns were not represented in the decision-making process. Connor Zamora reports.(CascadePBS)

Planning to dredge the Burrard Inlet to maximize oil shipments is underway
UBC ocean pollution researcher and Tsleil-Waututh Nation concerned about environmental impact.

B.C. NDP government narrowly passes controversial bills to fast-track projects
Bills received major pushback from First Nations and business groups alike; Speaker cast tiebreaking vote.

Hawaiʻi Makes History As First State To Charge Tourists To Save Environment
A Hawaiʻi vacation will cost you more in the near future thanks to a new “green fee” that the governor signed into law today. Marcel Honoré reports. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

Thousands mark 5th anniversary of George Floyd’s murder as they call for justice and decry Trump
Police reform and civil-rights activists joined thousands of ordinary people Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and decry the Trump administration for actions they say set their efforts back decades.

Friday, May 23, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review May 23 2025

Aloha World Turtle Day!

World Turtle Day aims to encourage humans to take action to help turtles and tortoises survive by protecting their habitats and stopping their illegal trade and sale. There are approximately 330 species of turtles and tortoises. Turtles are aquatic or semi-aquatic, while tortoises live on land. Both turtles and tortoises live long lives, although tortoises can live much longer, reaching up to 200 years. Turtles and tortoises have shells that are covered by scutes, which are hard scales. Turtles shed their scutes, but tortoises do not.

U.S. Sen. Murray says Trump zeroes out $500M for WA fish passage project
Washington’s U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is raising the alarm over a new spending plan by the Trump administration that doesn’t include $500 million in funding for a fish-passage project on the Green River near Seattle.

Trump orders the government to stop enforcing rules he doesn’t like
Critics say the administration is breaking the law and sidestepping the rulemaking process that presidents of both parties have long followed.

Billy Proctor, ‘Heart of the Raincoast,’ dies at 90
Billy Proctor, a fisherman known for his work to restore Pacific salmon and his personal museum featuring artifacts gathered from a lifetime in the Broughton archipelago, died Tuesday at 90 years old.

New WA law increases penalties for litter, delays plastic bag requirements
A new law signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on Saturday toughens the punishment for littering and delays requirements for retailers to offer thicker bags for sale from Jan. 1, 2026 until 2028.

What Experts Want You to Know About Microplastics
Scientists say it could be years before we have a full understanding of how these tiny plastic particles are affecting human health. But we do know they have been found from the depths of the Mariana Trench to the heights of Mount Everest. And we know that plastic is accumulating in our bodies, too.

A Home Made of Microplastics
Caddisfly cases from museum collections reveal that microplastics infiltrated “pristine” freshwater environments far earlier than suspected.

Logging protest continues with climber in tree
An injunction hearing regarding the parcels has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday in Clallam County Superior Court. If a 90-day injunction is issued, the tree climber will remove themselves from the tree. If the decision is not in favor of the environmentalists, the climber likely will stay up there indefinitely.

Wildfire season in WA: Above-normal risk in forecast
The summer is anticipated to bring above-normal fire risk, beginning in June, in the more arid grass- and shrublands and ponderosa pine forests of Central and Eastern Washington, and by July, creeping into wetter Western Washington.

How BC Wildfire Service is fighting misinformation with compassion
As more people engage with posts about wildfires on social media, the government agency is trying a new approach to combat the spread of misinformation. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

Pink salmon return expected to boost local fisheries, wildlife
Pink salmon are set to return to the Fraser River in record numbers this year, with the run expected to begin in August.

Friday, May 16, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review May 16 2025

Madame Berthe's mouse lemur:
smallest and most endangered primate species,
weighing only 30 grams.

Aloha Endangered Species Friday!

The United States Congress created Endangered Species Day in 2006 with the adoption of Senate Resolution 431. The resolution encouraged "the people of the United States to become educated about, and aware of, threats to species, success stories in species recovery, and the opportunity to promote species conservation worldwide." It also encouraged schools to spend at least 30 minutes teaching students about the day; encouraged groups such as businesses, organizations, private landowners and agencies to collaborate on educational information for the schools; and encouraged people of the United States "to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities."

Washington state sues to block Trump order expediting fossil fuel projects
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown is suing over what he says is President Donald Trump's unlawful declaration of an energy emergency, which is intended to speed up permitting procedures for fossil fuel projects.

How the Pacific Northwest’s dream of green energy fell apart
Oregon and Washington passed aggressive goals to decarbonize their power supply but left it to the Bonneville Power Administration to build the transmission lines needed for wind and solar. The agency hasn’t delivered.

B.C., federal government support dredging Vancouver's Burrard Inlet, others opposed
British Columbia's energy minister is backing plans to dredge and deepen Vancouver's Burrard Inlet to accommodate fully loaded oil tankers, despite concerns from environmentalists, experts and First Nations.

New energy secretary supports Snake River hydropower dams
The nation’s new energy secretary is “passionately in support” of leaving the four lower Snake River dams in Eastern Washington intact.

EPA announces rollback for some Biden-era limits on so-called forever chemicals in drinking water
The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it plans to weaken limits on some so-called forever chemicals in drinking water that were finalized last year, while maintaining standards for two common ones.

Higher prices, rolling blackouts: The Northwest is bracing for the effects of a lagging green energy push
Northwest leaders pushed strict green energy mandates but neglected problems with the electrical grid. Residents are already feeling the consequences.

NOAA senior scientists in Seattle depart amid Trump cuts
Scientists behind some of the most important breakthroughs in Northwest scientific research over the past two decades have left their jobs in the wake of budget cutting by the Trump administration.

Snohomish County Council passes controversial critical habitat ordinance
Despite overwhelming opposing testimony, the Snohomish County Council passed a controversial amendment alongside its new Critical Areas Regulations ordinance.