Salish Sea News Week in Review December 6 2024

Aloha Roy Orbison Friday!
Roy Kelton Orbison, who died on Dec. 6, 1988, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's music is mostly in the rock music genre and his most successful periods were in the early 1960s and the late 1980s. Wikipedia

2024 saw some good news for Pacific Northwest salmon
Kokanee, landlocked salmon, made their biggest return to the Lake Sammamish watershed in a decade, while some oceangoing salmon have returned in big numbers.

Catch-and-release fishing causing many salmon to die. Here's how to fix the problem, say UBC researchers
A six-year UBC study finds injuries from hooks, nets and handling as leading to high mortality rates of coho and Chinook salmon.

Orcas revive 'dead salmon hat' trend from the 1980s
Researchers in Washington have noticed at least one orca balancing salmon on its head in Puget Sound this fall, taking the dead fish for a ride and possibly snacking on it. 

Enbridge Drops the Westcoast Connector Pipeline
Enbridge says it will not develop the Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission line, one of several pipelines previously slated for northern B.C., after its environmental certificate expired last week.

Rising sea levels could put Vancouver’s airport underwater
YVR — the second busiest airport in Canada — sits on an island that could be flooded due to climate change, a new Senate committee report warns.

Worried about bird flu? Here’s what you need to know
The H5N1 avian flu virus has killed tens of thousands of wild birds and devastated poultry flocks. Human cases are rare, but experts say the virus poses a pandemic risk.

Court case in North Dakota calls federal environmental review regime into question
A lawsuit before a North Dakota federal district court could upend nearly five decades of environmental regulations affecting infrastructure projects.

Blue states prepare for battle over Trump’s environmental rollbacks
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to slash federal climate, clean air and clean water regulations during his second term — an agenda that could target rules governing everything from auto emissions to power plant pollution to drinking water standards.

Drilling into oil and gas ads — how accurate are they?
You may have noticed a lot of oil and gas advertising recently, mainly driven by the Government of Alberta and Cenovus Energy. But how accurate are these claims?

Documentary follows effort to free Tokitae, the famous orca held in captivity for 53 years
A new documentary film , “Resident Orca,” tells the story of a captured orca named Tokitae that died in 2023 amid efforts to free her from more than 50 years of captivity.

Vancouver Island salmon return 'one of the best in 20 years'
Climate change could undermine this year's good return and impact future salmon generations, expert says.

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

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