Salish Sea News Week in Review October 8 2021

 

 

Aloha Octopus Friday!
World Octopus Day is part of International Cephalopod Awareness Days, which take place from October 8–12 each year. Since octopuses have eight arms and squid have eight arms and two tentacles, the holiday week begins on the eighth day of the tenth month. The name "octopus" comes from the Greek word októpus, which means "eight foot." The animal is from the order Octopoda, of which there are 289 species. Octopus arms have clusters of neurons in them, which allow different arms to do different tasks at the same time. In fact, these neuron clusters may be considered to be brains. Thus, octopuses have nine brains, having a central one that controls their nervous system and one in each arm. If an octopus loses an arm, they are able to grow it back.

Federal regulators to limit hot water in Snake, Columbia rivers
Federal regulators starting this spring will require dam operators to limit hot water pollution caused by the four Lower Snake River dams.

Scientists Found a New Kind of Killer Whale
By analyzing more than 100,000 photographs of killer whales taken off the United States west coast, and assessing where each animal was seen and in whose company, a team of researchers has revealed that there are likely more branches on the killer whale family tree than previously thought.

Navy steams ahead with sonar testing despite state opposition, orca impacts
Over the objections of Washington state officials and orca advocates, the U.S. Navy is steaming ahead with a plan for seven more years of testing sonar and explosives in waters off the Northwest coast.

Climate change killed 14% of the world’s coral reefs in a decade, study finds
Climate change will kill even more coral reefs if oceans keep getting warmer, scientists warn in a far-reaching study.

Alaska’s vanishing salmon push Yukon River tribes to brink
Two salmon species have all but disappeared from Alaska’s Yukon River this year, prompting the state to shut down fishing in an effort to save them.

BP to more than double renewable diesel production at Cherry Point refinery
BP will spend $269 million at the Cherry Point refinery in Whatcom County to produce more renewable diesel, a biofuel, and make other improvements that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 7%, according to a corporate statement.

Mapping California’s Oil Spill: Aging Pipes Line the Coast
Ever since a pipeline failure caused at least 126,000 gallons of oil to spill into the Pacific Ocean, threatening a fragile coastal ecosystem and forcing some of Southern California’s most popular beaches to close, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been scrutinizing satellite imagery to track the oil’s spread.

Wastewater project delay one of several billion-dollar questions facing Metro Vancouver
The final cost of an already delayed wastewater treatment plant in North Vancouver is almost certain to rise from its $1 billion figure after Metro Vancouver said the contractor "abandoned" the project.

White House proposes restoring key parts of landmark environmental law, reversing Trump
The White House proposed restoring three core provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, reversing a significant rollback of President Donald Trump.

A beluga whale in Puget Sound? Rare visitor startles boaters in first sighting here since 1940
In a flash of white out of the blue, a beluga whale has been seen at least six times around Puget Sound since Sunday, the first such sightings since 1940.

Poll finds many Washington voters support removing Snake River dams
A new poll supported by environmental groups found Washington voters West and East of the Cascades support dam removal. Many Washington voters support a plan to remove four dams on the Lower Snake River, according to a survey conducted for a coalition of environmental groups.

Biden to restore protections for the Bears Ears monument after Trump downsized it
President Biden will restore the boundaries of Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments at a signing ceremony on Friday, the administration announced on Thursday evening.

Report identifies over 17 million gallons of untreated wastewater has been spilled into Puget Sound, Lake Washington in recent years
The King County Council’s Regional Water Quality Committee on Wednesday received a key report recommending electrical upgrades, strategies to adjust back-up power and more to prevent future wastewater spills like the failure that led to the spilling of millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into Puget Sound and Lake Washington on January 13, 2021.

Some whale watchers ‘routinely’ too close to endangered resident orcas, report says
Environmental groups have issued a scathing review of some whale watchers and the lack of enforcement by Transport Canada to protect the endangered southern resident orcas.

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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