Salish Sea News Week in Review May 1 2020

 
Aloha May Day Friday!
May Day is a spring holiday in many cultures, and a national holiday in many European countries. It stemmed from ancient celebrations which included Floralia, a Roman festival honoring the flower goddess Flora; Walpurgis Night, which was celebrated by Germanic countries; Beltane, a Gaelic holiday; and Anthesteria, a Greek festival. In some European pagan cultures, it was seen as the first day of summer, while the summer solstice was celebrated as Midsummer. Celebrants would get up early and gather flowers and branches to decorate their houses with. In Hawaii, May Day is known as Lei Day.


B.C.'s tourism industry prepares for a bleak summer
This month was supposed to be the start of the busiest cruise season in Metro Vancouver history, but the cruise industry — and the province's tourism industry as a whole — is looking at a much more subdued season altogether due to COVID-19.

Trans Mountain, LNG Canada say they are on track despite pandemic
Energy projects like an LNG Canada export terminal and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion may face short-term setbacks but the pandemic and oil price crash shouldn't threaten their long-term viability, economists say.

Warm-water ‘blobs’ significantly diminish salmon, other fish populations, study says
A new study suggests that the resulting decline in commercial fishing by 2050 could be twice as great as previously estimated by climate scientists.

'Salmon cannon' coming to help threatened Fraser River fish bypass rock slide
Spawning salmon will be shot through a 160 metre-long pneumatic tube running over the Big Bar slide.

Port of Seattle delays controversial new cruise terminal as it pares spending due to coronavirus
Port of Seattle Commissions shaved nearly $70 million from the Port’s 2020 budget, including by postponing the controversial $100 million redevelopment of a downtown pier into a cruise terminal.

Court To Hear Appeal Over Federal Pipeline Permitting Decision
Great Falls Federal Judge Brian Morris Tuesday granted the government’s request for an expedited appeal but kept in place a hold on projects using Nationwide Permit 12.

Silence is golden for whales as lockdown reduces ocean noise
Researchers examining real-time underwater sound signals from seabed observatories run by Ocean Networks Canada near the port of Vancouver found a significant drop in low-frequency sound associated with ships.


‘Status quo is not working,’ tribes say, as Seattle begins relicensing Skagit River Hydro 
Seattle City Light will go through a detailed federal process over the next five years, to meet regulations to keep operating the 100-year-old Skagit River Hydroelectric Project.


Preparing For the Next Spill
On Canada’s west coast, oil spill cleanup capacity is expanding. But is it enough?

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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.

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