Salish Sea Communications: August 2021

Friday, August 27, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 27 2021

Jan-ken-po Day
Rock paper scissors is usually played by two people, often when something needs to be chosen, such as whose turn is next. Hands are made into the shape of a rock, piece of paper, or scissors. Rock breaks scissors, paper covers rock, and scissors cuts paper. A similar game was first mentioned in Wuzazu, a book by Xie Zhaozhi, a Chinese writer of the Ming dynasty. Known as shousiling, the game was said to date back to the Han dynasty which ranged from 206 BCE to 220 CE. Hand signal games traveled from China to Japan in the seventeenth century, where they became known as sansukumi-ken, and rose in popularity. "Ken" meant fist games, "san" meant three-way, and "sukami" meant deadlock. There were variations of the games, the earliest being mushi-ken. The first form of the game to use symbols for rock, paper, and scissors was jan-ken. Created in the late nineteenth century, the modern version of the game is derived from it.

‘It’s pretty dire’: Vancouver Island salmon under threat from climate change-induced droughts
As the island enters the most severe level of drought in the province, experts warn B.C. has much work to do to manage for watershed health in the midst of prolonged dry spells.

Taking the temperature of salmon
Warming waters threaten the recovery of salmon in Puget Sound. New findings about stream temperature could help salmon survive the threats of climate change.

After mystery sea star die-off, could captive breeding rebalance California’s underwater forests?
Without sea stars, an explosion of sea urchins knocked the ecosystem off balance. Now scientists are racing to breed a new generation of their predators.

Skagit County sues Seattle for public records in fight over fish passage at city dams
A fight over the lack of fish passage at Seattle City Light dams escalated Tuesday when Skagit County sued the city of Seattle in a bid to force the release of some of the utility’s financial records.

B.C.’s extreme heat is here to stay. Critics say government’s plan to deal with it is dangerously weak
From 570 devastating heat-induced deaths, to fish die-offs, to berries being baked on the stem, British Columbians are experiencing the multitude impacts of a growing climate emergency that the province urgently needs to adapt to.

Expert says B.C. sea stars melting away because of wasting disease
A new study published by the Royal Society said sea stars are getting close to extinction as waters along the west coast.

Fairy Creek is set to become the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada’s history
Amid escalating tensions with the RCMP, old-growth logging blockades on Vancouver Island show no signs of letting up. B.C.’s response, experts say, will determine the legacy of the new war in the woods.

An Amazon Rainforest of the sea fights for survival beneath Puget Sound
An undersea expedition to a mysterious world beneath the waves has come to West Seattle's Lincoln Park. It's just one stop on a week-long mission to help understand and save one of our area's most important natural resources, its kelp forests.

Discovery of tire-related chemical that kills coho salmon sparks widespread response
Scientists, legislators and manufacturers are responding in various ways to the recent groundbreaking discovery of a deadly chemical derived from automobile tires, a chemical that can rapidly kill coho salmon swimming in urban streams.

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 mikesato772 at gmail.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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Friday, August 20, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 20 2021

Aloha Mosquito Friday!
World Mosquito Day takes place on the anniversary of the day in 1897 when British doctor Sir Ronald Ross discovered that the female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans. This led to scientists ability to better understand the relationship between mosquitoes and diseases, and what could be done to combat it. In 1902, Ross received the Nobel Prize for medicine for his work.

US Bureau of Land Management reconsiders protecting 10 million acres of sage grouse habitat
The Obama administration temporarily enacted a plan to withdraw what are called “sagebrush focal areas” from mining and drilling during the president’s second term, but called for a full environmental review to make the withdrawal permanent. The Trump administration, upon taking office, abandoned that plan, opening those 10 million acres for business.

Extinction of B.C. Interior steelhead runs imminent: experts
Only 19 spawning adults returned to the Chilcotin watershed this spring, down from 418 in 2015 and a peak of 3,149 in 1985.

Did the oldest male southern resident orca die too young — at just 35?
He was last seen struggling against the current, terribly emaciated, one of the skinniest orcas ever seen alive.

Ghost boats are haunting Puget Sound waters
It can cost over $10,000 to properly dispose of a boat that is no longer in working order. Some owners are choosing to abandon ship instead; causing big problems for marina managers and the environment.

Skeptics of sea otter reintroduction getting organized on Pacific Coast
Sea otters are undeniably cute, but cuteness only goes so far when major economic interests are at stake.

They want to tell the real history, celebrate vibrant people of the Coast Salish
Robert Jago wants Northwesterners to learn the real history of this land.

Biden to nominate Umatilla tribal leader Chuck Sams to direct National Park Service
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Oregon tribal leader Charles “Chuck” Sams III to direct the National Park Service.

Skinny orcas are up to 3 times more likely to die than healthy whales, new research shows
Skinny southern resident killer whales are two to three times more likely to die in the next year than whales in a healthy condition, new research shows.

Court Blocks a Vast Alaskan Drilling Project, Citing Climate Dangers
The multibillion-dollar ConocoPhillips plan, known as Willow, was approved under the Trump administration and then legally supported by the Biden administration.

EPA bans pesticide chlorpyrifos for use on food crops
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced it will stop the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on all edible crops.

Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition calls on EPA to maintain standards set in 2014
A polluted river runs through the heart of industrial Seattle. The Lower Duwamish waterway was designated a Superfund site in 2001.

Namu the Killer Whale premieres at Orpheum Theatre in Seattle on August 1, 1966.
On August 1, 1966, at a charity event at the Orpheum Theatre in Seattle, an audience views the first showing of the movie Namu the Killer Whale.

Friday, August 13, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review August 13 2021

Aloha Friday the 13th!

Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. According to folklore historian Donald Dossey, the unlucky nature of the number "13" originated with a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party in Valhalla. The trickster god Loki, who was not invited, arrived as the 13th guest, and arranged for Höðr to shoot Balder with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Dossey: "Balder died, and the whole Earth got dark. The whole Earth mourned. It was a bad, unlucky day." This major event in Norse mythology caused the number 13 to be considered unlucky. (Wikipedia)

Judge hears lawsuit over fish farms
Whether Cooke Aquaculture’s plan to raise native steelhead at fish farms in Puget Sound is a simple business transition or a complex threat to the marine ecosystem is being debated in King County Superior Court.

Male southern resident killer whale possibly dead from cancer, says expert
The endangered southern resident killer whale population may have suffered more loss with one of the orcas presumed dead, says an expert.

Forest defenders present 150,000-name petition to stop old-growth logging
Environmentalists and the B.C. Green party are demanding the provincial government implement the promises it made to preserve B.C.’s forests, starting with putting an immediate end to old-growth logging.

This is the most sobering report card yet on climate change and Earth’s future. Here’s what you need to know
There is little good news in the 3,900 pages of text released today. But there is still time to avert the worst of the climate catastrophe — if humanity chooses to.

Ottawa says it must maximize revenue from the Trans Mountain pipeline to fight climate change
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson said today that revenue generated by the project will help Canada achieve its long-term climate objectives.

U.S. Senate infrastructure package could ‘significantly improve’ salmon habitat
The $1 trillion infrastructure package includes $1 billion over a five-year period to help states remove pipes, known as culverts, that allow streams to flow under roadways.

Swinomish, regional tribal leader Lorraine Loomis dies at 81
Longtime tribal fisheries advocate Lorraine Loomis of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community died Tuesday. She was 81.

Shellfish farmers line up for disaster aid after heat wave decimates oysters and clams
Sixty shellfish farms in Washington state have applied for federal disaster aid after a double whammy of extreme heat and afternoon low tides killed most of their oysters and clams in June.

From Delta to Hope, 85% of B.C.’s lower Fraser salmon habitat no longer accessible to declining fish populations
Using field manuals from 170 years ago, scientists have identified the monumental impact human development has had on B.C.’s struggling Fraser salmon — and what can be done to reverse it.

Olympia City Council wants Capitol Lake to become an estuary
The Olympia City Council has decided to support a plan to allow Capitol Lake to revert to an estuary.

Canada commits $340 million to Indigenous protected areas, guardians programs
The federal government announced it will provide funding over the next five years to support Indigenous-led stewardship of lands and waters under its $2.3 billion commitment to nature conservation. Matt Simmons reports.

Friday, August 6, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review 8/6/21

Hiroshima Friday
On August 6, 1945, at 2:45 a.m., the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber, took off from Tinian Island in the Mariana Islands. It was flown by Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets—who had named the plane after his mother—and carried an atomic bomb called "Little Boy." At 8:16 a.m., the bomb was dropped over the city of Hiroshima. It exploded at an altitude of 1,900 feet, above a hospital. It released the equivalent of 12,500 tons of TNT and destroyed over four square miles of the city, leveling about 62,000 of Hiroshima's 90,000 buildings. Around 80,000 to 90,000 people were killed on impact, and another 60,000 died by the end of the year on account of radiation sickness and other injuries sustained from the blast.

DFO report suggests alternatives to open-net salmon farms in B.C.
B.C. wild salmon advocates are calling on the federal government to expedite the transition away from open-net pen salmon farming, following a federal government report that outlined suggestions from stakeholders.

Southern resident orca near Washington state presumed dead
An orca is presumed dead after being found in distress last week in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a body of water that separates Washington state from Canada, officials said.

Critical Habitat for Southern Resident Killer Whales
NOAA Fisheries has revised the critical habitat designation for Southern Resident killer whales.

Washington tribe calls on Seattle City Light to remove the Gorge Dam
To help salmon and free a culturally important stretch of the Skagit River, the Upper Skagit tribe demands that Seattle tear down the dam.

To Save A Huge, 24-Armed Sea Creature, Scientists Become Loving Foster Parents
On an island off the coast of Washington state, scientists have resorted to breeding sunflower sea stars in a lab.

Fine particulate air pollution associated with higher risk of dementia
Using data from two large, long-running study projects in the Puget Sound region — one that began in the late 1970s measuring air pollution and another on risk factors for dementia that began in 1994 — University of Washington researchers identified a link between air pollution and dementia.

The Greenland ice sheet experienced a massive melting event last week
Last week, a heat wave spurred Greenland’s biggest melting event of the 2021 season so far. The Polar Portal, run by Danish research institutions, stated that enough water melted to cover all of Florida with two inches of water.

BC’s Shellfish Farmers Struggle After Heat Wave Decimates Oysters
The heat dome exposed significant gaps in crop support, says an industry advocate.