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.


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 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.



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 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. 


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