Salish Sea News Week in Review
July 26, 2019

Aloha July Ruby Friday!
Rubies, the birthstone of July, are considered the king of gems and represent love, health and wisdom. It was believed wearing a fine red Ruby bestowed good fortune on its owner. A Ruby is the most valuable gemstone and its value increases based on its color and quality. (Wixon Jewelers)

Cost to replace salmon-blocking culverts running into billions, WSDOT says
The taxpayers’ cost to comply with a federal court order to improve salmon habitat by repairing state culverts has ballooned from $1.9 billion to $3.8 billion over the past dozen years, officials told legislators Thursday.

Trans Mountain construction work can go ahead as National Energy Board re-validates permits
The National Energy Board has cleared the way for construction to resume on portions of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project by re-validating all the orders and decisions it enjoyed before its permits were overturned last year.

Indigenous-led group submits unsolicited bid to buy Trans Mountain pipeline
Indigenous-led group Project Reconciliation has submitted a preliminary proposal to the federal government to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Critics appalled as controversial Tacoma LNG plant moves closer to final approval
Puget Sound Energy’s liquefied natural gas project on Tacoma’s Tideflats is one step closer to completion.

Mother orca Tahlequah and her dead calf, one year later. How did she change the conversation?
It was a year ago Wednesday that mother orca Tahlequah rallied attention to the plight of endangered southern resident killer whales and their struggle for survival.

Montana, N. Dakota seek to block Washington state rail law
Attorneys general for North Dakota and Montana asked the Trump administration on Wednesday to overrule a Washington state law that imposed new restrictions on oil trains from the Northern Plains to guard against explosive derailments.

Feds look again at reintroducing grizzly bears to North Cascades
The on-again, off-again effort to return grizzly bears to North Cascades National Park is back on.

Climate change: Current heating 'unparalleled' in 2,000 years 
The speed and extent of current global warming exceeds any similar event in the past 2,000 years, researchers 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, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow @savepugetsound

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Salish Sea News Week in Review
July 19 2019

Aloha Moonwalk Friday!
July 20, 2019 marks a half-century since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.


Scorecard Spurs WA Cities to Control Stormwater Pollution
After years of work, cities in Washington are doing more to protect Puget Sound from its biggest source of pollution: stormwater runoff.

'This is unprecedented': Alert, Nunavut, is warmer than Victoria
Weather watchers are focused on the world's most northerly community, which is in the middle of a record-breaking heat wave.

World experienced hottest June on record in 2019, says US agency
The world experienced its hottest June on record last month, with an average temperature worldwide of 61.6F (16.4C), according to new data.

High speed rail from Vancouver to Seattle, Portland 'worth the investment,' study says
A new study looking into high speed rail between cities in British Columbia and Washington state says it's financially viable.

Operating costs rise by millions for new sewage treatment plant: staff report
Costs to operate and maintain the Capital Regional District’s new sewage treatment project will be millions of dollars a year more than originally forecast,

U.S. company fined nearly $3M for 2016 fuel spill in B.C. First Nation's fishing territory
A Texas-based company has been fined over $2.9 million in penalties after pleading guilty to a diesel spill from a tugboat that ran aground and sank in a First Nation's fishing territory on B.C.'s Central Coast.


Salish Sea Orcas are going elsewhere for fish  It looks like endangered Orcas that reside around Puget Sound… may be residing somewhere else.


'We're losing time': Tl'azt'en First Nation very concerned about rock slide blocking salmon run
A rock slide blocking a narrow part of Fraser River just west of Clinton, about 100 kilometres northwest of Kamloops, has members of the Tl'azt'en First Nation very concerned that salmon that are already endangered won't be able to migrate to Northern B.C. this summer.


E.P.A. Won’t Ban Chlorpyrifos, Pesticide Tied to Children’s Health Problems
The Trump administration took a major step to weaken the regulation of toxic chemicals on Thursday when the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would not ban a widely used pesticide that its own experts have linked to serious health problems in children.


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, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow @savepugetsound

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Salish Sea News Week in Review
July 12 2019

PHOTO: Andrew Sutton

Aloha Blue Whale Friday!
The blue whale is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whale parvorder, Mysticeti. At up to 29.9 metres in length and with a maximum recorded weight of 173 tonnes, it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. (Wikipedia) See: 'In the presence of greatness': Rare sighting of blue whale off B.C. coast 
 

It's a girl: Researchers get closer look at J pod orca baby
A new baby orca born to J pod is a female, researchers have confirmed. The baby whale, probably born May 24, 2019, is designated J56 and her mother is J31, a 24-year-old.


Best way to fight climate change? Plant a trillion trees
The most effective way to fight global warming is to plant lots of trees, a study says. A trillion of them, maybe more. And there’s enough room, Swiss scientists say.

Army divers begin Puget Sound clean up to benefit fish and wildlife
A new collaboration between the state Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army's 569th Engineer Dive Detachment will help improve wildlife habitat in Puget Sound waters by removing derelict fishing nets beginning Monday.

First Nations launch new court challenge to Trans Mountain pipeline
Six First Nations that have filed another legal challenge against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion say Canada's ownership of the corporation behind the project created a bias that prevented full consultations as ordered by the Federal Court of Appeal.

Washington state sues Navy over expansion of Growler jet training on Whidbey Island 
The Navy’s expansion of loud, low-flying Growler jet training flights on Whidbey Island drew a lawsuit on Tuesday from Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who alleges the Navy did not do enough to examine the flights’ impacts on people and wildlife.

Limited Availability of Tugs for Emergencies on Canada's Pacific Coast
A research report on the Availability of Tugs of Opportunity in Canada’s Pacific Region published by Clear Seas Centre for Responsible Marine Shipping indicates that Canada’s West Coast faces gaps in the availability of commercial tugs to serve as emergency towing vessels for ships in distress.

What Alaska's Pebble Mine fight means for Seattle Bristol Bay is a cornerstone of Washington's seafood industry. But many say a mine 20 years in the making could threaten all of it.
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, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow @savepugetsound

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told