Salish Sea News Week in Review January 14 2022

Aloha Kite Day!
International Kite Day started in India, where it takes place in the northwestern state of Gujarat, and is most widely celebrated in the city of Ahmedabad. The festival is known as Uttarayan in the Hindi language, and it is also called Makar Sakranti in parts of India. It celebrates the changing of the seasons from winter to summer, as well the upcoming harvest of winter crops. People come from countries all over the world to celebrate. The kites that are associated with the festival symbolize the spirit of gods awakening after their winter sleep.

Trans Mountain Pipeline Faces Scrutiny on Soil Stability, Fraser River Impact
The federal Crown corporation building the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion has been handed a seven-day deadline to answer tough questions about soil stability, drilling method, and environmental impacts after proposing to redrill and reroute part of a 1.5-kilometre tunnel beneath the Fraser River.

Sea level on steroids: Record tides flood Washington coastlines
Some of the highest tides ever recorded hit Seattle and much of the Washington coast this week. High tides in Port Townsend, Seattle, and Tacoma on Friday were nearly two feet higher than forecast.

The Great Bear Rainforest’s Great Big Whales
British Columbia’s Kitimat fjord is an unlikely home for massive fin whales, and scientists are beginning to understand what makes the area so attractive.

WA legislators prepare for long list of climate change bills
Lawmakers could look at more than a dozen climate proposals addressing carbon reduction and other environmental issues. John Stang reports.

Criminal charges filed in Puyallup River pollution case. Dam operator faces jail time, fines
The Washington State Attorney General’s Office filed 36 criminal charges Monday against Orting’s Electron Hydro dam operator after turf polluted the Puyallup River during a construction project in 2020.

Can salmon eggs survive Washington's heavy floods?
When rivers flood, it can damage the salmon eggs held within them, setting back those populations.

‘We need to learn to do things faster’: Canada’s new environment minister talks climate — and compromise
From overseeing 2030 targets to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, Steven Guilbeault has been tasked with one of the largest to-do lists of the entire federal cabinet.

Ocean warmth sets record high in 2021 as a result of greenhouse gas emissions
Since the late 1980s, Earth’s oceans have warmed at a rate eight times faster than the preceding decades.

B.C. environmental, rights groups welcome court win over RCMP delay in approving watchdog report
B.C. Civil Liberties Association took force to court over 3½-year wait for review of monitoring complaint.

State Supreme Court OKs steelhead farming
The state Supreme Court published a unanimous decision by its nine judges Thursday to uphold the state Department of Fish and Wildlife's approval of steelhead farming in Puget Sound.

Still No Penalties for Coastal GasLink Environmental Violations
More than a year after Coastal GasLink was cited for multiple environmental violations on its pipeline route through northern B.C., the provincial government still hasn’t imposed penalties.

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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