Salish Sea Communications: 2024

Friday, April 26, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review April 26 2024

Remember Chernobyl Friday

Large parts of Europe were contaminated when reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded on April 26, 1986. Although the number of deaths attributable to the disaster is difficult to determine, experts anticipate tens of thousands of deaths across Europe in the coming decades due to cancer caused by the radioactive fallout.

Bird Flu Is Infecting More Mammals. What Does That Mean for Us?
H5N1, an avian flu virus, has killed tens of thousands of marine mammals, and infiltrated American livestock for the first time. Scientists are working quickly to assess how it is evolving and how much of a risk it poses to humans.

UBC prof Suzanne Simard named in Time's 'most influential' list
University of B.C. forestry professor Suzanne Simard, author of "Finding the Mother Tree," was named to Time magazine's 'most influential people' list on Wednesday.

New federal funds will help thousands in Washington get solar power for free
Washington state will receive $156 million in federal funds for new programs to install rooftop solar on thousands of homes and apartment buildings, and to expand access to solar energy in tribal communities. The money is a slice of $7 billion in grants nationwide the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday through its Solar For All program, which aims to make solar energy more available and affordable for low- and moderate-income Americans. Jerry Cornfield reports.

Tribal climate leaders come together to share pain, solutions and laughter
Indigenous people from around the U.S. and Canada convened in Auburn last week for a summit meeting on tribal climate leadership aiming to amplify and empower Indigenous leaders as they navigate the cultural, economic and social challenges of climate change.

Will these gentle giants return to the Salish Sea?
Basking sharks are the world's second-largest shark (and fish) species, and while they were once common in some parts of the Salish Sea, they are now so rare that several of the scientists working to better understand them and restore their numbers have never even seen one.

Washington electric vehicle rebates up to $9,000 available beginning in August
Washington motorists will gain access this summer to new state rebates – up to $9,000 in some cases – to help cover the cost of leasing or purchasing electric vehicles.

Start of Trans Mountain oil tanker traffic around Vancouver Island imminent
Trans Mountain has announced that it will commence operations on May 1, roughly one week out from Earth Day. That means tanker transportation of diluted bitumen from its Burnaby terminal will begin to move through the Burrard Inlet, into the Salish Sea and the Strait of Juan De Fuca.

WA farmers brace for summer drought on heels of harvest shortfalls
Washington’s agriculture industry has been hit hard by climate change. Growers are working to develop crops that can thrive in shifting landscapes.

First humpback mom and calf return to Salish Sea
The first calf, likely about three months old, and its mother, “Black Pearl,” were spotted in Haro Strait last week by Eagle Wing Tours.

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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told

Friday, April 19, 2024

Salish Sea Mews Week in Review April 19 2024

Aloha garlic Friday!
Garlic (Allium sativum) is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeastern Iran and has long been used as a seasoning worldwide, with a history of several thousand years of human consumption and use. It was known to ancient Egyptians and has been used as both a food flavoring and a traditional medicine. China produced 73% of the world's supply of garlic in 2021. 'Tis chic to reek...

'We were born knowing this is ours': B.C. signs deal recognizing Haida Nation title over Haida Gwaii
The B.C. government and the Council of the Haida Nation have signed an agreement officially recognizing Haida Gwaii's Aboriginal title, more than two decades after the nation launched a legal action seeking formal recognition.

Puyallup Tribe to have 17 acres of waterfront land added to reservation
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land Into Trust Act transfers land along the Tacoma waterfront to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, allowing the Tribe to expand its reservation and access to federal benefits associated with it.

Washington to adopt new U.S. PFAS limits, but may take two years
The Washington Department of Health plans to lower the limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced new lower limits on Wednesday.

Statewide drought declared due to low snowpack and dry forecast
With winter’s snowstorms largely behind us and summer just weeks away, our state’s low snowpack and forecasts for a dry and warm spring and summer have spurred the Department of Ecology to declare a drought emergency for most of Washington.

Court ruling clears way for carbon storage projects on state logging lands
A timber industry group and two counties challenged a plan to set aside about 10,000 acres of trees to absorb carbon dioxide and help combat climate change.

Plans for WA’s largest wind farm slashed in half
A state energy board cut in half the largest wind project proposed in Washington on Wednesday after a yearslong and contentious planning process. Plans for the $1.7 billion Horse Heaven Hills wind farm originally included up to 222 wind turbines across 24 miles of hillsides near the Tri-Cities, plus three solar arrays covering up to 5,447 acres.

Bird flu in cattle stressing Northwest dairy operators
Some Northwest dairy farmers have experienced low milk prices, belly-high flooding, extreme heat, extreme cold events and fires in the past couple of years. Now, the challenge is highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, in cattle.

Campaign to defend Washington state's climate law raises $11 million, far outpacing opposition
A campaign focused on defending Washington’s Climate Commitment Act from repeal by voters launched Wednesday. The “No on 2117” campaign announced it has obtained more than $11 million in pledges from environmental groups, unions, tribes, and corporations.

Friday, April 12, 2024

Salish Sea Mews Week in Review April 12 2024

Aloha Yuri Gagarin Friday!

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful crewed spaceflight, became the first human to journey into outer space. Travelling on Vostok 1, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth on April 12, 1961, with his flight taking 108 minutes. (Wikipedia)

May startup of Trans Mountain pipeline expansion surprises analysts
Trans Mountain's announcement that its expanded oil pipeline would start commercial operations on May 1 has surprised analysts with an earlier-than-expected commencement on the long-delayed $34 billion project.

Feds deny Washington’s request for stricter PCB standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied a request from the Washington Department of Ecology to set tighter limits for harmful chemicals used in manufacturing that find their way into the state’s waterways.

Puget Sound Energy facility has violated air permit over a dozen times
The 2-year old liquified natural gas plant on the Tacoma Tideflats has been issued more than a dozen violations of the facility’s air permit by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

Rare sea turtle discovered dead on North Island
Another loggerhead sea turtle has surfaced on Vancouver Island, hundreds of kilometres north of its natural range in the open Pacific Ocean. The turtle was found dead on Friday by hikers at Nels Bight near Cape Scott on the North Island.

National limit for PFAS in drinking water affects all public wells in WA
The Environmental Protection Agency announced the first national drinking water standard for so-called “forever chemicals” Wednesday that will require testing of thousands of drinking water systems across Washington.

Surge in electricity demand spells trouble for PNW, forecasts show
Power planning forecasts in the Northwest show trouble ahead, in spiking demand for energy, transmission worries and no quick or cheap answers.

Friday, April 5, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review April 5 2024

Aloha Dandelion Friday!

The time of year has arrived when dandelions are sprouting up all over lawns, and with it has come National Dandelion Day. Blooming from early spring into autumn, dandelions take their name from the French phrase dent de lion, meaning "lion's tooth," which refers to the jagged, teeth-like shape of the plant's leaves. The plant's scientific name is taraxacum officinale. The dandelion is a perennial herbaceous plant that can grow almost anywhere—not just on lawns, but between cracks, and even in gravel and cement. Considered by many to be a weed, all parts of the plant are edible and have medicinal properties.

Fires from 2023 still smouldering under snow reveal B.C.'s dangerous new reality
B.C. had 90 zombie blazes burning as of mid-March, holdovers from last year’s record fire season, while Alberta started the year with 64.

For the first time, U.S. dairy cows have tested positive for bird flu
Livestock at multiple dairy farms across the U.S. have tested positive for bird flu — also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI — in an outbreak that's likely spread to at least five states.

New count of gray whales along West Coast suggests rebound
A new count of the gray whale population along the West Coast shows “signs of recovery” five years after hundreds of them washed ashore and the population began declining, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

Western honeybee colonies at risk of collapse, WSU study finds
One of nature’s most important keystone species is working itself to death. Colonies of honeybees — crucial pollinators for a wide variety of plants and cash crops — are at risk of collapse because of climate change, a recent study by scientists at Washington State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found.

Extinction risk to southern resident orcas accelerating as researchers raise alarm
New research published Tuesday https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01327-5 inidcates that the endangered southern resident killer whales that frequent Puget Sound are facing an accelerating risk of extinction.

Rescuers plan helicopter airlift of orca calf stranded in B.C. lagoon
Plans are now underway to airlift a stranded killer whale calf out of a remote tidal lagoon off northern Vancouver Island in an effort to reunite the young orca with its extended family.

Friday, March 29, 2024

Salish Sea Mews Week in Review March 29 2024

March: In like a lion, out like a lamb?
According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the weather folklore stems from ancestral beliefs in balance, meaning if the weather at the start of March was bad, the month should end with good weather. The Paris Review outlines a few origin theories for the March folklore, including an astronomical connection. In March, the Leo zodiac is the rising sign and when we reach April, it is a ram. Another theory gives the saying a biblical origin. Check with your local weather team for the latest.(Nexstar Media Wire)

Beached orca in B.C. dies despite life-saving efforts
A female killer whale that beached on northern Vancouver Island died on Saturday despite efforts by the community to push the mammal back into the water.

Orca calf rescue team considers changing tactics to save stranded B.C. whale: DFO
A rescue team working to coax a stranded killer whale calf from a lagoon off northern Vancouver Island is prepared to change tactics to save its life, including the possibility of lifting the orca out to the open ocean.

Estimated cost for North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant balloons to almost $4B
Construction on the long-awaited North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant will soon begin again, according to Metro Vancouver, but it now comes with a much more expensive price tag of $3.86 billion.

How the drought hit WA’s farms, forests, fisheries and drinking water
Virtually every aspect of life in Washington suffered during last year’s drought. Groundwater wells ran dry, fields produced fewer crops, trees died in greater numbers, fish faced disease and famine.

As WA tackles PFAS pollution, some worry about ‘piecemeal’ approach
State-mandated testing revealed a San Juan Island community was drinking toxic water. But who is responsible for paying for a new water source? The question is one public officials are grappling with as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are found in drinking water sources and watersheds across the state.

Rising temperatures from climate change depleting oxygen in coastal waters, threatening marine life
During the summer of 2021, half of coastal waters from northern California to the Canadian border had oxygen levels too low to support marine life.

Under a new proposal, our local orcas — resident and Bigg’s killer whales — would each become a new species
This single-species convention could soon undergo a decisive change, thanks to advanced genetic techniques used to discern evolutionary patterns. Following years of study and consideration, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have proposed two new species of killer whales, Orcinus ater for residents and Orcinus rectipinnus for Bigg’s.

Baltimore bridge crash puts new focus on role of ship pilots
The tragedy has put focus on the people who pilot ships in ports, a job that is little known outside the maritime industry but is extremely important.

EPA sets strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks and buses in bid to fight climate change
The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday set strict emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, buses and other large vehicles, an action that officials said will help clean up some of the nation’s largest sources of planet-warming greenhouse gases.

Friday, March 22, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 22 2024

Aloha Seal Friday!
Pinnipeds, commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Odobenidae, Otariidae, and Phocidae, with 34 extant species and more than 50 extinct species described from fossils. (Wikipedia)

Alaska lawsuit claims feds owe state $700B for quashing mine
A complaint filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims is part of a series of lawsuits seeking to overturn the EPA decision barring development of the controversial mine.

How one river in south Puget Sound tells the story of salmon’s plight
Carving his boat through the the river, Willie Frank III, chairman of the Nisqually Tribe, called out nearby bald eagles over the roar of the motor. “My grandfather Willie Frank Sr. used to say the Nisqually Indians lived in paradise before the white man came,” he said Thursday morning. “We still live in paradise. We’ve just got to protect it, restore it and bring it back to life.”

Orcas seen attacking other whales may be new population, according to UBC researchers
After observing a group of killer whales hunting other marine mammals off the coastline in California and Oregon, UBC researchers think that a new population of orcas may exist.

B.C. officials warn of early, 'challenging' wildfire season
Government and wildfire officials in British Columbia are warning that the province could see an early and active spring wildfire season due to persistent drought conditions that have left soil parched and snowpack levels low.

Herring fishery is wrapping up around Vancouver Island
The annual herring spawn is wrapping up this year and it appears “pretty encouraging” on the west coast of Vancouver Island and in the Strait of Georgia. This year’s total catch for herring for the entire coast has been set at 9,251 tonnes, up somewhat from the previous year. Carla Wilson reports.

Salmon-spilling company ends fight to resume farming at Puget Sound sites
The company behind a massive spill of Atlantic salmon in 2017 has thrown in the towel on its efforts to keep farming fish at two sites in Puget Sound. Cooke Aquaculture withdrew its appeal Friday of a 2022 Washington Department of Natural Resources order to shut down its floating farms off Bainbridge Island, just west of Seattle, and Hope Island in Skagit County.

$34B Trans Mountain expansion pipeline begins filling with oil with first shipments before Canada Day
The odyssey of developing and building the Trans Mountain expansion project in Western Canada is finally nearing the finishing line as sections of the pipeline begin filling with oil. The project will transport oil from Alberta to the West Coast and triple the amount of crude that is shipped on an existing pipeline, from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 bpd.

Climate change is bringing earlier springs, but it's wreaking havoc on animals
With Canada coming out of its warmest winter on record, some may be enjoying the signs of spring that are showing up much earlier this year: plants beginning to pop up out of the ground, the earlier calls of robins or migrating birds or even just the warmer and sunnier days. But this isn't good news for the natural world.

Agencies release final environmental impact statement evaluating options for restoring grizzly bears to the North Cascades
The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have announced a preferred alternative that would restore grizzlies to their historic homelands, where they are functionally extinct.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 15 2024

Aloha Ides of March Friday
The Roman calendar, which dates back to 753 BCE, had three fixed points throughout the month: Nones, Ides, and Kalends. Ides took place around the midpoint of each month, occurring on the 13th or 15th. In March it took place on the 15th. The Ides of March is most remembered as being the anniversary of the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated, in 44 BCE. It is believed that a seer had warned Caesar that harm would come to him on the Ides of March. In William Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar, the seer has ascribed the phrase "Beware the Ides of March." Caesar was stabbed to death at a meeting of the Senate at the Theatre of Pompey.

Removing WA salmon barriers surges to $1M a day, but results are murky
Washington, rushing to meet a court deadline in a tribal fishing rights lawsuit, spends billions on construction, but some of it may be useless for salmon today.

Sea otter's return opened path to restore West Coast salt marsh
The multi-decadal study, carried out in central California, could hold lessons for British Columbia, whose sea otter population was nearly exterminated through decades of poaching.

Flurry of mini earthquakes off Vancouver Island hints at undersea expansion
Swarms of mini earthquakes along tectonic plates five kilometres underwater on the Pacific Ocean floor off the coast of Vancouver Island have caught the attention of ocean scientists because they point to an “impending magmatic rupture” on the Juan de Fuca Ridge, 240 km from Vancouver Island.

Companies to pay for Duwamish salmon, wildlife habitat restoration
Several industrial businesses have agreed to pay for the harm they caused to natural resources in the lower Duwamish River as part of two proposed settlements announced in recent days.

As the Northwest spring arrives, so do anxieties over water for farming, and summer wildfires
Across the Northwest, federal, state and regional officials are in general accord, there isn’t enough snow and with the start of spring just days away, the next couple of weeks will determine just how challenging it could get this summer for agricultural irrigators, fish and wildfires.

A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals
Over the past year, electric utilities have nearly doubled their forecasts of how much additional power they’ll need by 2028 as they confront an unexpected explosion in the number of data centers, an abrupt resurgence in manufacturing driven by new federal laws, and millions of electric vehicles being plugged in.

Province seeks input on plan to protect Clayoquot Sound
The province is seeking public input on proposals to establish 77,000 hectares of protected, old-growth forest around Clayoquot Sound — about 70 per cent of which is more than 250 years old.

The world’s largest ‘dark sky sanctuary’ is now in Oregon
A section of southeastern Oregon is now home to the largest “dark sky sanctuary” in the world. The area spans 2.5 million acres of Lake County. It was certified this month by DarkSky International, a U.S.-based nonprofit that aims to reduce light pollution.

Friday, March 8, 2024

Salish Sea Mews Week in Review March 8 2024

Aloha International Women's Day!

International Women's Day commemorates the movement for women's rights and celebrates the political, cultural, social, and economic achievements of women. It is also a day to continue fighting for gender equality: for equal pay and work opportunities for women, and for equality in access to education and healthcare worldwide. It is also a day to work to eradicate violence against women. It is celebrated around the world and supported by various groups. Small and large gatherings and conferences take place. It is a day of celebration, but also a day of taking new initiatives and action.

Washington’s first state park in nearly 40 years is closer to completion
The development of Nisqually State Park outside Eatonville has been in the works for nearly four decades and is expected to be fully completed by next summer. It’s the first time a local tribe, the Nisqually Tribe, has been made a serious partner in the development of a new park.

‘They’ve destroyed the land’: Illegal dumping on BC farmland
It’s against the law to dump construction material on land reserved for farming but its increasingly being used as a cheaper alternative to authorized sites, which can charge more than $1,000 a load.

Long-term forecast predicts increased forest fire activity in Oregon and Washington’s dampest areas
Hotter and more intense fires are likely coming to the Pacific Northwest’s cooler and wetter forests. That’s from new research led by an Oregon State University scientist.

Can Marine Mammals and Munitions Coexist?
As the humpback whale population rebounds in an area of the Salish Sea used for military weapons training, scientists raise concerns. andrea bennett reports.

B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman won't seek re-election
Heyman will endorse former Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer to seek NDP nomination.

Sanmar embarks on construction of world’s first methanol-fueled escort tugs
The new tugs will service Canada’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP), escorting tankers from the harbour limits of the Port of Vancouver to the open Pacific Ocean through the commercial shipping lanes of the Salish Sea.

U.S. hydropower output drops to 20-year low as Northwest snowpack shrinks
Washington hydropower fell 23% in “water year 2023”— the 12-month period from October 2022 to September 2023. In Oregon, the next-biggest hydro producer, it fell 22%.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Salish Sea Mews Week in Review March 1 2024

Aloha Pig Friday!
National Pig Day honors the domesticated pig. According to Mary Lynne Rave, who started National Pig Day with her sister Ellen Stanley in 1972, the purpose of the day is "to accord to the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man's most intellectual and domesticated animals." Pigs are from the Suidae family of mammals; species include wild boars, warthogs, the pygmy hog, and the domesticated pig—the species focused on today. Pigs were one of the first domesticated animals, leaving their wild roots about 6,000 years ago in China. They were first brought to the New World by Hernando de Soto, in 1539.

New Columbia Basin plan promises $1B for fish restoration and a break from court cases
This agreement, combined with other funding, will bring more than $1 billion to wild fish restoration and a 10-year break from court cases, according to the Biden administration.

Chinook Indian Nation land claim settlement awarded, nation could be closer to federal recognition
The federal government awarded over half a million dollars to the Chinook Indian Nation to settle the nation’s long-running land claim.

BC Urged to ‘Completely Change Its Approach to Firefighting’
A 14-member government-appointed expert task force is expected to report soon with recommendations on improving emergency preparedness and response. Premier David Eby says the province is already acting on the task force’s preliminary recommendations.

New ferries will carry more people, use green technology
B.C. Ferries is unveiling plans for new major vessels that feature more space for passengers and vehicles and greener technology. Up to seven new major vessels will join the fleet, with the first set to arrive in 2029.

B.C. First Nation sues federal government over ban on herring spawn fishery
The Heiltsuk Nation claims the federal fisheries minister's decision to close the commercial harvest of herring spawn-on-kelp in the nation's territory was an infringement of its Aboriginal rights.

Trans Mountain's latest cost estimate climbs 10%, regulatory filing shows
According to a regulatory filing Trans Mountain Corp. provided to the Canada Energy Regulator on Monday, the company building the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion now estimates the project's costs will come in 10 per cent higher than its May 2023 estimate of $30.9 billion.

Gray whales return to Salish Sea as population struggles
Each year in the late winter, a small group of gray whales will detour from their usual 5,000-mile migration between the southern tip of California and the Bering Sea near Alaska to make a stop in the Salish Sea.

Oil spilled by Fraser River sturgeon habitat. Why did it take almost 3 months to start cleaning up?
A landslide in early December caused a spill that First Nations leaders say endangers prime sturgeon habitat in the Fraser River. They’re left wondering why it’s taken so long to address.

BC wildfire: Expect early, intense battle as drought lingers
A drought that has lingered across much of B.C. since the fall of 2022 could be a harbinger of a “grim” wildfire season.

Friday, February 23, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 23 2024

Aloha Skip the Straw Friday!
The Coral Keepers, a group of nine eighth grade students at Whitehall Middle School in Whitehall, Michigan, founded National Skip the Straw Day with their advisor, Susan Tate, in 2017, "to encourage Americans to give up the straw habit and help spread awareness about the damage caused by disposable plastics." National Skip the Straw Day encourages people to switch to renewable straws or to forgo straws altogether when drinking on the day—or on any day.

Oregon classifies orca whales as endangered
Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife Commission has decided to add a group of whales that forage along the Oregon Coast to the state’s endangered species list.

Puyallup Tribe celebrates as Electron Hydro is ordered to remove temporary rock dam
District Court Judge John C. Coughenour ruled that energy company Electron Hydro must remove part of a temporary rock wall at the Electron Dam site.

Snohomish County partners with feds on North Cascades grizzly plan
Last week, the Snohomish County Council approved a memorandum of understanding between the county’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

Cleanup at Rayonier site still years away
The years’ long cleanup process at the old Rayonier mill site on the Port Angeles waterfront is moving forward but is likely at least another eight years from being completed.

Supreme Court will hear challenge to EPA's 'good neighbor' rule that limits pollution
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in an important environmental case that centers on the obligation to be a "good neighbor." At the heart of the dispute is the part of the Clean Air Act designed to help protect people from severe health problems they face because of pollution that floats downwind from neighboring states.

How an endangered hawk could topple plans for WA’s largest wind farm
More than 100 of the turbines, which could stand taller than the Space Needle, might pose a danger to a little-known and endangered species in the Tri-Cities area: the ferruginous hawk.

Feds secure surrender of last oil and gas permits off B.C. coast
Canada has secured the surrender of the last remaining permits for oil and gas development off its Pacific Coast, the federal natural resources minister said on Wednesday, after Chevron Canada voluntarily relinquished 23 permits as of Feb. 9.

NDP Hits Brakes on Land Act Reconciliation Plan
Facing public backlash encouraged by opposition parties, the B.C. government has cancelled planned changes to the Land Act, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen said Wednesday.

The 50th anniversary of the Boldt Decision is a celebration of Native leadership
A landmark lawsuit reaffirmed treaty fishing rights after decades of intertribal activism, inspired by the civil rights movement.

Friday, February 16, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 16, 2024

Aloha Kyoto Protocol Friday!
Kyoto Protocol Day honors the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. The day takes place on February 16, on the anniversary of the date that the Kyoto Protocol took effect in 2005. The protocol has been ratified by 191 countries and the European Union. It was signed by the United States, but not ratified, and they dropped out of the protocol in 2001. After initially participating, Canada has since withdrawn from the protocol.

World temperatures go above 1.5 C warming for a year: EU scientists
The average temperature for the past 12 months was 1.52 C above pre-industrial times, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

What do ‘clean’ and ‘green’ actually mean? Canadian watchdog receives complaints about environmental claims by Shell, RBC, Enbridge
The list of companies whose marketing is being accused of deceiving Canadians about their environmental commitments continues to grow.

They started building a bulkhead for a new home on Hood Canal. Then the feds found out
A judge ruled the structure was built in Hood Canal without a proper permit, and now the homeowner faces a $250,000 fine.

Many birds are named for enslavers, colonizers and white supremacists. That’s about to change
Black birdwatchers on the practice’s racist history, the move to rename North America’s feathered species and other changes needed to make birding inclusive.

First Nations group criticizes federal fisheries department
An Indigenous-led group is criticizing what it says is the "gross mismanagement" of aquaculture in British Columbia by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as it calls for a separation of its regulatory and promotional responsibilities.

PFAS in Washington’s well water could make you sick
‘Forever chemicals’ linked to ailments from high cholesterol to cancer are in our clearest aquifers — but steep costs pose cleanup challenges.

Sea Change: How and When Washington’s Catch Ebbs and Flows
From smelt to sea cucumbers, the seafood we take from Northwest waters is ever-changing.

Rays of hope for kelp and climate in south Salish Sea
Some pockets of bull kelp vital for sea life off southern Vancouver Island and B.C.’s Gulf Islands are proving to be resilient to rising sea temperatures and marine heat waves, a new University of Victoria study has found.

Whidbey diver-turned-citizen scientist provides ongoing data
Longtime Whidbey diver Jan Kocian has circled the island exploring the marine environment. It looks a lot different than it used to, he said. “That diversity is gone,” he said. “It’s unfortunately in every location on the island. The diving is not even close to what it used to be. I know I sound like an old guy.”

Friday, February 9, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 9 2024

Aloha Bob Marley Friday!
Robert Nesta Marley OM (b. Feb. 9, 1945) was a Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, his music fused elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, and he was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style.

Record number of Bigg’s Killer Whales sightings in 2023
More than 1,400 Bigg’s Killer Whales sightings were reported in the Salish Sea in 2023, according to the Orca Behaviour Institute. This number surpasses the 2022 record by about 200 sightings, the institute says, and contributes to an eight-fold increase in sightings from 10 years ago.

WA’s snowpack languishes with little hope for the months ahead
Snowpack across the entire state sits below normal levels, in some places less than half what an average winter might bring. “It’s worse than I expected,” state climatologist Nick Bond said.

Out of gas: Inslee’s oil transparency bill stalls in Legislature
The bill was a top climate priority for the governor this session but critics questioned the cost and whether the state could keep sensitive corporate data safe from hackers.

Energy company is back in court for endangering fish on the Puyallup River
Electron Hydro and its CEO last year agreed to pay more than a million dollars in fines for their illegal use of artificial turf in the Puyallup River four years ago. On Tuesday, Electron Hydro’s owners will be back in court – this time in a suit brought by the Puyallup Tribe under the Endangered Species Act.

B.C. groups request review of tire chemical linked to salmon deaths
Peter Ross, senior scientist at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, says the mystery of coho dying in urban waterways had persisted for years, until a 2020 study uncovered the role of a particular chemical used in tire rubber.

Environmental groups celebrate court ruling as a win for at-risk birds in B.C. and beyond
Court case was launched against backdrop of old growth logging protests on Vancouver Island.

Loggerhead sea turtle found at Pedder Bay
The turtle, typically found much farther south, was rushed to the Vancouver Aquarium suffering from hypothermia.

Thousands of Chinook wasted as bycatch in B.C. fishery, new report finds
Nearly 30,000 Chinook salmon were wasted as bycatch in the Canadian trawl fishery, which was targeting hake and walleye pollock, a new report from Canadian fisheries officials found.

UW's Burke Museum working with Native tribes to repatriate Indigenous artifacts
Museums across Washington state may no longer display some Native artifacts without permission under a new federal rule.

Friday, February 2, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 2, 2024

Aloha Groundhog Friday!
The groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska. Groundhog Day is an annual event when groundhogs are brought outside and are observed to see if they see their shadow or not. If they see their shadow, it is said that there will be six more weeks of winter. If they do not, it means the weather will be mild in the upcoming weeks, and spring will come early.

Plastic bag bans have already prevented billions of bags from being used, report finds
Over the past several years, U.S. cities and states have passed hundreds of policies restricting the sale and distribution of single-use plastic bags. A new report says these laws have largely succeeded in their goal of reducing plastic bag use.

Endangered baby orca J60 missing, presumed dead
On Saturday, a three-person team from the Center for Whale Research spotted most of J Pod in Washington’s San Juan Channel between San Juan Island and Shaw Island. They documented the orcas from their research boat, with telephoto lenses and a federally permitted drone, for nearly two hours and observed every member of J Pod -- except J60.

Trans Mountain expansion hits 'technical issues,' possibly delaying completion
The Crown corporation building the massive project, which had previously stated it expected to have the pipeline in-service near the end of the first quarter, said Monday it has once again run into construction challenges in B.C. and pushed that date back.

BC population to hit 7.9 million by 2046, as growth rate soars: report
The new B.C. government report based on publicly available data predicts a 44-per-cent population increase compared to the 2023 population of 5.5 million.

The door to B.C.’s liquefied natural gas export sector is about to open. Here’s what you need to know
As LNG Canada completes construction and prepares to bring operations online, the export facility could 'open a gateway' for other projects to proceed. But B.C.’s gas export sector faces stricter emissions policies, unpredictable market shifts and climate disasters as it tries to maintain its place in an uncertain future.

Reviving the Samish Tribe’s kelp
Researchers are documenting the decline of once-plentiful kelp beds in an effort to reverse the trend.

Lawsuits fly, as regulators come to grips with a toxic tire chemical
A lawsuit filed against 13 of the largest tire manufacturers in this country seeks to ban the chemical 6PPD from its universal use in tires, or else force tire companies to pay for stormwater-mitigation measures that can remove the chemical or otherwise protect salmon.

Friday, January 26, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review January 26 2024

Aloha Lego Friday!
Lego bricks and other items are manufactured by the Lego Group, which is based in Billund, Denmark. It was in this city in 1932 that a carpenter by the name of Ole Kirk Christiansen began making wooden toys. Two years later, his company began being called "Lego," which came from leg godt, the Danish phrase meaning "play well." The company started making plastic toys in 1947, and interlocking bricks in 1949. Called "Automatic Binding Bricks," they were based on Kiddicraft Self-Locking Bricks. On January 28, 1958, Christiansen's son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, submitted an application for a patent for a "Toy Building Brick."

Fixing the cormorant disaster on the Columbia: ‘How could this have come out any worse?’
A colony of seabirds was shooed away from the mouth of the Columbia River, only to relocate to a bridge. That's when the problems really began.

A new study finds a critical vitamin for salmon in rivers
From dams to drought, salmon face a lot of threats in the West. Add thiamine deficiency to the list. Thiamine, also known as vitamin B1, is critical for salmon health. Juvenile fish can die without enough of the nutrient.

Learning to Plan for the Next 500 Years
A first-of-its-kind program at Vancouver Island University trains students to steward Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas.

Proposal would require oil handlers, transporters to prove ability to pay for spills
The Washington Department of Ecology is proposing rules regarding financial responsibility requirements for oil handling facilities and vessels ranging from $500,000 to $1 billion based on vessel type and size; financial responsibility for oil handling facilities – including refineries, terminals, and pipelines – would range from $5 million to $300 million.

Ports take steps to reduce emissions with $12M infrastructure grant
Seattle and Tacoma now have a $12-million-dollar federal infrastructure grant to focus on short-haul trucking whose emissions pollute nearby neighborhoods, warm the climate and pollute the immediate environment of the drivers while they’re on the job.

New fossils suggest kelp forests have swayed in the seas for at least 32 million years
A study published in PNAS presents new evidence that the first kelps were much older than we once suspected, dating back 32 million years — well before the arrival of many of their present-day animal inhabitants.

Green hydrogen plans take shape for former Alcoa site at Cherry Point
The closed Alcoa aluminum smelter near Ferndale could be redeveloped as a green hydrogen factory if the prospective new owner can navigate a series of hurdles.

If you like to watch: Divers capture dramatic battle between seal and octopus
Maxime Veilleux and Matteo Endrizzi were finishing their sunset dive off Nanoose Bay on Sunday and heading to the shore when something unusual caught their eyes.

How an Indigenous rights battle in WA changed tribal law, from fishing to culverts
Fifty years ago, a landmark federal court case brought against Washington state reaffirmed the treaty rights of Native Americans to fish in traditional waters and shorelines. From culvert rehab to dam removal, 1974's "Boldt Decision" has expanded far beyond fishing to legally empower tribes' ability to protect natural resources.

Friday, January 19, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review January 19 2024

Dolly Parton (1977) [RCA Records]

Aloha Dolly Parton Birthday Friday!
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She has received 11 Grammy Awards out of 50 nominations, including the Lifetime Achievement Award; ten Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year and is one of only seven female artists to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award; five Academy of Country Music Awards, also including Entertainer of the Year; four People's Choice Awards; and three American Music Awards. She is also in a select group to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. In 1999, Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2005, she received the National Medal of Arts and in 2022, she was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a nomination she had initially declined but ultimately accepted, and was subsequently inducted.

How the Boldt decision 50 years ago remade Pacific Northwest fishing
The Boldt decision of 1974 was the result of sacrifices made by Native fishers and their families who were jailed and beaten while defending their rights to fish.

BP bought a sacred place. Now Lummi Nation is preparing again to fend off development
Tribal leaders opposed the $50 million sale, which came as a surprise to them. They want the assurance that Xwe’chi’eXen (pronounced wuh-chee-uh-kin), which for thousands of years has supported fishing, ceremony and social gatherings, would be protected in perpetuity.

‘No excuse’: feds withheld key information when a Coastal GasLink site flooded
Documents reveal Fisheries and Oceans Canada was aware of numerous issues at a pipeline construction site on Wet’suwet’en territory but did not disclose information to concerned organizations or the media.

Voters to decide on repeal of Washington cap-and-trade program
The fate of Washington’s primary program to combat climate change will be in the hands of voters to uphold or reject this November. Initiative 2117, certified for the ballot on Tuesday, would erase the two-year-old Climate Commitment Act.

This humble fish may help the Supreme Court weaken the ‘administrative state’
In a pair of cases involving herring fishermen, conservative justices could toss out the precedent known as Chevron, which gives power to federal government agencies.

This Canadian pipeline giant wants an exemption from climate rules
Internal government memos show TC Energy lobbied for carveouts exempting methane and LNG plants from one of Canada’s key climate policies targeting the oil and gas industry.

No turning back: The largest dam removal in U.S. history begins
The largest dam removal in U.S. history entered a critical phase this week, with the lowering of dammed reservoirs on the Klamath River. On Thursday, the gate on a 16-foot-wide bypass tunnel at the base of Iron Gate dam, the lowest of those slated to be removed, was opened from a crack to 36 inches.

Island mill fined $25K for dumping highly toxic waste into ocean
Paper Excellence's Crofton mill has been slapped with a $25,500 penalty for releasing more than one million litres of toxic waste into the Salish Sea.

RCMP officers mocked people being arrested at Wet'suwet'en blockade as 'orcs' and 'ogre'
RCMP officers referred to First Nations pipeline opponents as "orcs" and "ogre" during a police raid at a blockade of Coastal GasLink pipeline construction in November 2021, according to audio recordings played in court Wednesday.

Friday, January 12, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review January 12 2024

Aloha Led Zepplin Friday!
Led Zeppelin, the debut studio album by English rock band Led Zeppelin, was released on January 12, 1969, in the USA. Led Zeppelin's front cover, which was chosen by Jimmy Page, features a black-and-white image of the German zeppelin Hindenburg photographed by Sam Shere on May 6, 1937, when the airship burst into flames while landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey. The image refers to the origin of the band's name itself: When Page, Beck and The Who's Keith Moon and John Entwistle were discussing the idea of forming a group, Moon joked, "It would probably go over like a lead balloon", and Entwistle reportedly replied, "a lead zeppelin!"

Winter drought holds potential for dire 2024 B.C. fire season
Fire ecologist Lori Daniels admits 'coexistent' seems counterintuitive but is necessary with climate change edging toward a hotter, drier future.

Trial of prominent Wet'suwet'en leader and land defenders begins
Three accused are charged with criminal contempt over Coastal GasLink pipeline blockades.

Supreme Court denies Alaska’s bid to revive the copper and gold Pebble Mine proposal blocked by EPA
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Alaska’s bid to revive a proposed copper and gold mine that was blocked by the Environmental Protection Agency.

2023 was the hottest year on record — by a long shot
According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), 2023 was 1.48 C warmer than the pre-industrial average from 1850-1900, beating out 2016's record of 1.25 C.

When you drink bottled water, you're drinking lots and lots of plastic particles
New study finds most of the plastic comes from bottle itself, filtration.

Scientists worldwide are immersed in studies of a deadly tire chemical
A tire-related chemical found to kill coho salmon and other fish has come under intense worldwide investigation ever since Puget Sound researchers isolated the singular compound three years ago from among thousands of pollutants residing in stormwater.