Salish Sea Communications: February 2025

Friday, February 28, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 28 2025

Aloha Skip the Straw Day
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.

Trump wants B.C.’s water: Plausible or one big pipe dream?
The U.S. president has made inaccurate comments in the past that California’s drought could be solved by turning on a Canadian “faucet.”

Which US companies are pulling back on diversity initiatives?
Pepsi, Goldman Sachs, Google, Target, Meta Platforms, Amazon, McDonald's, Walmart, Ford, Lowe's, Harley-Davidson, Brown Foreman (Jack Daniels), John Deere, Tractor Supply.

Can this 'burnt toast'-like substance be a key tool in the fight against climate change?
Companies and countries are turning to biochar, and some people are making it in their own backyard.

Where the Savior Fish Still Swims
In an era of collapse, a fabled fish keeps coming back to Nisg̱a’a nation.

What climate change means for bird flu — and the soaring price of eggs
Extreme weather is shifting the migratory patterns of birds, increasing the chances of deadly avian flu outbreaks on farms.

Coastal Peregrine Falcons’ Mysterious Decline
In North America, coastal populations of the once-embattled bird are missing, and no one is quite sure why.

Oil major BP to slash renewable spending and double down on fossil fuels in strategy reset
British oil major BP on Wednesday announced plans to increase annual oil and gas investment to $10 billion through 2027 as part of a fundamental strategic reset.

EPA urges White House to strike down landmark climate finding
Trump officials are weighing whether to repeal the “endangerment finding,” which says that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare.

USDA rolls out $1B plan to fight bird flu after egg prices rise
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday it plans to spend up to $1 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funds to try to reduce the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry.

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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Friday, February 21, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 21 2025

Aloha Peace Symbol Friday!

The peace symbol was designed on Feb. 21, 1958 by Gerald Holtom, a professional designer and artist and a graduate of the Royal College of Arts for the British . He was a conscientious objector who had worked on a farm in Norfolk during the Second World War, and explained that the symbol incorporated the semaphore letters N(uclear) and D(isarmament).

Bonneville Power staff departures under President Trump raise concerns about Northwest electrical grid
Linemen, engineers among hundreds of staff to leave Bonneville Power Administration as Trump trims workforce.

Canada recognizes Aboriginal title over Haida Gwaii off B.C. in historic agreement
The federal government will recognize Aboriginal title over the archipelago of Haida Gwaii off British Columbia's northern coast in a historic agreement with the Haida First Nation.

The feds tried to hold the line in an invasive species battle — and lost. What’s next?
Riding Mountain National Park was the frontline of the westward invasion, but Parks Canada now says stopping zebra mussels at the park is ‘no longer an achievable option.’

A beloved forest reserve in King County is expanded
As one of his first official acts as commissioner of public lands, Dave Upthegrove on Feb. 4 led the state Board of Natural Resources in unanimous approval of the expansion of DNR’s West Tiger Mountain Natural Resources Conservation Area.

Trump’s job cuts lead to closed trails, staff shortages in WA
Federal workers in the Pacific Northwest who protect water and air quality and keep public lands open and clean are among the thousands fired without cause as President Donald Trump slashes jobs across the country.

Eby vows to cut ‘red tape’ for B.C. resource and energy projects — citing tariff threats
B.C. MLAs returned to the legislature today for a throne speech that centred the NDP’s push to speed up permits for LNG and other projects.

Scientists at U.S. weather forecasting agency ordered to get clearance before talking to Canadian counterparts
Former official says NOAA workforce could be halved, sending ripple effects around the world.

For 60 years, this Canada-U.S. treaty governed money, power and a river. With Trump's threats, what now?
Columbia River Treaty compensates Canada to manage waterway for U.S. hydropower, flood control.

Microsoft Says It Has Created a New State of Matter to Power Quantum Computers
Microsoft’s new “topological qubit” is not based on a solid, liquid or gas. It is another phase of matter that many experts did not think was possible.

Friday, February 14, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 14 2025

Aloha Fredrick Douglass Friday!

Frederick Douglass was a nineteenth-century abolitionist, writer, and orator, who was one of the most prominent African American leaders of his time. It is believed that Douglass was born on today's date, in 1818, although his exact birthdate is not known. In 1926, Carter G. Woodson created "Negro History Week," choosing the second week of February because it encompassed the birthdays of Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. This eventually became Black History Month, and celebrations of Frederick Douglass Day stemmed from this.

First Nations unite on the Peninsula to talk herring population restoration
First Nations and environmental organizations are gathering to discuss the restoration of the Salish Sea’s distinct herring populations on Feb. 13.

Trump Killed a Major Report on Nature. They’re Trying to Publish It Anyway.
The first full draft of the assessment, on the state of America’s land, water and wildlife, was weeks from completion. The project leader called the study “too important to die.”

NOAA Is Told to Make List of Climate-Related Grants, Setting Off Fears
Staff members search for spending on “climate science,” “climate crisis” and “pollution” as one of the world’s premier climate research agencies girds for cuts.

New strain of bird flu is detected in a Nevada dairy worker, CDC says
A dairy worker in Nevada was infected with a new type of bird flu that’s different from the version that has been spreading in U.S. herds since last year.

Most of the world’s big polluters just blew off a major climate deadline
Major polluters including China and the E.U. failed to submit their national emissions plans to the U.N., suggesting that the global climate framework is wobbling.

B.C. snowpack at 72% of normal as of Feb. 1 after 'extremely dry' January
Areas with below-normal snowpack show "early concerns" for drought conditions in the spring and summer.

Trump nominates oil and gas advocate to lead agency that manages federal land concentrated in the West
Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Colorado-based oil industry trade group Western Energy Alliance, was named Bureau of Land Management director, a position with wide influence over lands used for energy production, grazing, recreation and other purposes.

Associated Press barred from Oval Office for not using ‘Gulf of America’
Agency says its reporter wasn’t allowed into event in effort to ‘punish’ style guide on upholding use of Gulf of Mexico.

'The purge has begun.' Environmental justice workers locked out of EPA Seattle office
Nine Environmental Protection Agency employees in Seattle have been put on leave by the Trump Administration because they work on environmental justice.

Friday, February 7, 2025

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 7 2025

Aloha Periodic Table Day!
On this day in 1863, John Newlands published his periodic table of elements. His goal was to organize the elements in a way so that a more accurate prediction of chemical reactions could be made. Newlands' table contained 56 elements and was the first to introduce the law of octaves. February 7 is also the date before the birthday in 1834 of Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian inventor and chemist who is known as the "father" of the periodic table and is the scientist most associated with it. He found groups of elements that had similar properties, and arranged elements by their atomic weight and valence electrons, but also found exceptions to the patterns. He also predicted that elements must exist that were not yet known.

Environmentalists push for stronger old-growth protections in Northwest Forest Plan
Around a hundred community members showed up to the U.S. Forest Service office in Medford on Wednesday night for a public meeting about proposed amendments to the Northwest Forest Plan. Environmental activists held a rally outside the Forest Service office to push for stronger protections for old-growth ecosystems in the amendments.

Deep dive into the underwater forest of Washington
Amid debates on school closings and budget deficits, lawmakers in Olympia are also taking a deep dive on bull kelp. While it may not be the splashiest piece of legislation, this aquatic plant has an oversized role in our water, and its at risk of disappearing.

Metro Vancouver's population now exceeds 3 million, according to StatsCan
Based on current growth rates, Surrey could eclipse Vancouver in population by 2027.

American bald eagles are having a moment, ecologically and culturally
Along the long road from American icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment.

Coal mine pollution: international inquiry details plan to investigate Canada, U.S. contamination
After decades of pollution from B.C. coal mines, an international inquiry is proposing to spotlight solutions to issues like selenium contamination.

$156M solar power grant for Washington in limbo after Trump order
Washington was locked out of about $150 million in federal funding for solar projects focused on low-income communities last week as the Trump administration paused clean energy grants.

Washington leaders offer more detail on federal funding blocked by Trump
The status of more than $50 million in federal grants to Washington’s Department of Ecology remained in doubt late Tuesday, halting projects on water quality, shoreline restoration and toxic site cleanup.

Climate vs. Salmon
The salmon of the Salish Sea, long revered as keystone species and cultural icons, are facing unprecedented challenges due to climate change. As warming temperatures and erratic weather patterns disrupt the salmon life cycle, the survival of this sacred fish hangs in the balance.

The US is freezing and La Nina usually eases warming. Earth just set another heat record anyway
The world warmed to yet another monthly heat record in January, despite an abnormally chilly United States, a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, according to the European climate service Copernicus.