Salish Sea News Week in Review August 2 2024

Aloha Dinosaur Friday!

Richard Owen, an English anatomist, came up with the word "Dinosauria" in 1842. The word comes from the Greek word "deinos," meaning terrible or fearfully great, and "sauros," meaning reptile or lizard. He applied the term to three animals whose fossilized bones had been found over the previous few decades. Scientists believe they first appeared about 245 million years ago, at the beginning of the Middle Triassic Epoch, and existed for about 180 million years, going extinct about 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The period when they lived is called the Mesozoic Era.

Monsanto agrees to settlement with Seattle over Duwamish River pollution
Ending an eight-year legal battle, chemical giant Monsanto has agreed to a $160-million settlement with Seattle for its part in polluting a river that runs through the heart of the city with toxins that posed a threat to humans, fish and wildlife.

US promises $240 million to improve fish hatcheries, protect tribal rights in Pacific Northwest
The U.S. government will invest $240 million in salmon and steelhead hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest to boost declining fish populations and support the treaty-protected fishing rights of Native American tribes.

Data centers guzzle power, threatening WA’s clean energy push
Some Washington utility officials might face a daunting choice: violate a state green energy law limiting fossil fuel use or risk rolling blackouts. Artificial intelligence, which requires extraordinary computing power, is accelerating the need to build data centers across the world, and experts say the industry’s global energy consumption as of just two years ago could double by 2026.

A River of Deception
Historical documents reveal how Seattle City Light's dams deprived the Skagit Rive of fish, impacting the Upper Skagit Tribe's treaty rights for over a century.

Two shark species documented in Puget Sound for first time by Oregon State researchers
Oregon State University researchers have made the first scientific confirmation in Puget Sound of two distinct shark species, one of them critically endangered.

What’s the cost if WA voters erase capital gains tax, end cap-and-trade?
Analyses bound for the state’s voter pamphlet examine the financial effects of Initiative 2109 and Initiative 2117 passing this fall.

Ship fire off Victoria shows Canada isn't prepared for marine emergencies: TSB
The container ship rolled and lost 109 containers overboard, spilling cargo along Vancouver Island's beaches. About 36 hours later, while the vessel was anchored off Victoria, a fire broke on the ship.

A decade after disastrous breach, Mount Polley mine tailings dam could get even bigger
A faulty tailings dam at the B.C. mine dumped billions of litres of waste into the environment — and Quesnel Lake is still contaminated. Now Imperial Metals wants to expand the same dam.

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 msato@salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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