Salish Sea News Week in Review April 21 2023

 

Aloha Earth Day Friday!
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. The official theme for 2023 is Invest In Our Planet. (Wikipedia)

Confusion rises over plans to bring Tokitae back to Puget Sound
Over the weekend, plans to return an orca to the Pacific Northwest got a bit more confusing—with the benefactor footing the bill announcing details of a plan, while the CEO of the aquarium in charge responded online calling the statements a "misunderstanding." 

Orca study shows up hunting differences
...Tracked in waters off Port Hardy, the best hunters among the northern resident whales were female...While northern females dominated their pod’s hunt, females in the southern resident killer whales with a calf were among the least efficient hunters.

Green groups sue EPA over decades-old water pollution rules
A coalition of 13 green groups filed a lawsuit on Tuesday arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, has violated federal law by repeatedly failing to update regulations on water pollution for seven industrial sectors.

Fairy Creek old-growth protesters celebrate as a slew of contempt charges are withdrawn
The B.C. Prosecution Service says it has withdrawn contempt charges against 11 old-growth logging protesters accused of breaching a court injunction during blockades at Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island.

Sea-Tac, Alaska and Delta accused of harming health of 300K residents
A potential class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges that the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Alaska Air Group and Delta Air Lines are polluting King County towns within a 5-mile radius of the airport.

US plans new forest protections, issues old-growth inventory
The Biden administration has identified more than 175,000 square miles (453,000 square kilometers) of old growth and mature forests on U.S. government land and plans to craft a new rule to better protect the nation’s woodlands from fires, insects and other side effects of climate change. 

Washington can now look to out-of-state shipbuilders for its next ferries
The Washington Legislature gave final approval and sent to the governor HB 1846 which allows the state to seek bids for ferry construction from shipyards  outside the state.

Why Site C wants to leave construction debris at the bottom of the Peace River
B.C. Hydro's wants to flood an 80 kilometre-long swathe of the Peace River valley and leave behind 45 pieces of Site C dam structural construction debris because, it says, it is better for fish.

Feds approve major expansion B.C. container port despite environmental, labour opposition
The federal government has given the OK to a major new container terminal at Roberts Bank Terminal 2 in Delta. Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the expanded terminal will increase capacity by up to 60 per cent.

WA could get millions in federal salmon recovery dollars
More than $60 million in federal Climate-Ready Coasts initiative grants could soon be on the way to help Washington’s rivers, endangered salmon and native eelgrass.

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.

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