Salish Sea Communications: February 2024

Friday, February 23, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 23 2024

Aloha Skip the Straw Friday!
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.

Oregon classifies orca whales as endangered
Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife Commission has decided to add a group of whales that forage along the Oregon Coast to the state’s endangered species list.

Puyallup Tribe celebrates as Electron Hydro is ordered to remove temporary rock dam
District Court Judge John C. Coughenour ruled that energy company Electron Hydro must remove part of a temporary rock wall at the Electron Dam site.

Snohomish County partners with feds on North Cascades grizzly plan
Last week, the Snohomish County Council approved a memorandum of understanding between the county’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

Cleanup at Rayonier site still years away
The years’ long cleanup process at the old Rayonier mill site on the Port Angeles waterfront is moving forward but is likely at least another eight years from being completed.

Supreme Court will hear challenge to EPA's 'good neighbor' rule that limits pollution
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in an important environmental case that centers on the obligation to be a "good neighbor." At the heart of the dispute is the part of the Clean Air Act designed to help protect people from severe health problems they face because of pollution that floats downwind from neighboring states.

How an endangered hawk could topple plans for WA’s largest wind farm
More than 100 of the turbines, which could stand taller than the Space Needle, might pose a danger to a little-known and endangered species in the Tri-Cities area: the ferruginous hawk.

Feds secure surrender of last oil and gas permits off B.C. coast
Canada has secured the surrender of the last remaining permits for oil and gas development off its Pacific Coast, the federal natural resources minister said on Wednesday, after Chevron Canada voluntarily relinquished 23 permits as of Feb. 9.

NDP Hits Brakes on Land Act Reconciliation Plan
Facing public backlash encouraged by opposition parties, the B.C. government has cancelled planned changes to the Land Act, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen said Wednesday.

The 50th anniversary of the Boldt Decision is a celebration of Native leadership
A landmark lawsuit reaffirmed treaty fishing rights after decades of intertribal activism, inspired by the civil rights movement.

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, February 16, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 16, 2024

Aloha Kyoto Protocol Friday!
Kyoto Protocol Day honors the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. The day takes place on February 16, on the anniversary of the date that the Kyoto Protocol took effect in 2005. The protocol has been ratified by 191 countries and the European Union. It was signed by the United States, but not ratified, and they dropped out of the protocol in 2001. After initially participating, Canada has since withdrawn from the protocol.

World temperatures go above 1.5 C warming for a year: EU scientists
The average temperature for the past 12 months was 1.52 C above pre-industrial times, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

What do ‘clean’ and ‘green’ actually mean? Canadian watchdog receives complaints about environmental claims by Shell, RBC, Enbridge
The list of companies whose marketing is being accused of deceiving Canadians about their environmental commitments continues to grow.

They started building a bulkhead for a new home on Hood Canal. Then the feds found out
A judge ruled the structure was built in Hood Canal without a proper permit, and now the homeowner faces a $250,000 fine.

Many birds are named for enslavers, colonizers and white supremacists. That’s about to change
Black birdwatchers on the practice’s racist history, the move to rename North America’s feathered species and other changes needed to make birding inclusive.

First Nations group criticizes federal fisheries department
An Indigenous-led group is criticizing what it says is the "gross mismanagement" of aquaculture in British Columbia by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as it calls for a separation of its regulatory and promotional responsibilities.

PFAS in Washington’s well water could make you sick
‘Forever chemicals’ linked to ailments from high cholesterol to cancer are in our clearest aquifers — but steep costs pose cleanup challenges.

Sea Change: How and When Washington’s Catch Ebbs and Flows
From smelt to sea cucumbers, the seafood we take from Northwest waters is ever-changing.

Rays of hope for kelp and climate in south Salish Sea
Some pockets of bull kelp vital for sea life off southern Vancouver Island and B.C.’s Gulf Islands are proving to be resilient to rising sea temperatures and marine heat waves, a new University of Victoria study has found.

Whidbey diver-turned-citizen scientist provides ongoing data
Longtime Whidbey diver Jan Kocian has circled the island exploring the marine environment. It looks a lot different than it used to, he said. “That diversity is gone,” he said. “It’s unfortunately in every location on the island. The diving is not even close to what it used to be. I know I sound like an old guy.”

Friday, February 9, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 9 2024

Aloha Bob Marley Friday!
Robert Nesta Marley OM (b. Feb. 9, 1945) was a Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, his music fused elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, and he was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style.

Record number of Bigg’s Killer Whales sightings in 2023
More than 1,400 Bigg’s Killer Whales sightings were reported in the Salish Sea in 2023, according to the Orca Behaviour Institute. This number surpasses the 2022 record by about 200 sightings, the institute says, and contributes to an eight-fold increase in sightings from 10 years ago.

WA’s snowpack languishes with little hope for the months ahead
Snowpack across the entire state sits below normal levels, in some places less than half what an average winter might bring. “It’s worse than I expected,” state climatologist Nick Bond said.

Out of gas: Inslee’s oil transparency bill stalls in Legislature
The bill was a top climate priority for the governor this session but critics questioned the cost and whether the state could keep sensitive corporate data safe from hackers.

Energy company is back in court for endangering fish on the Puyallup River
Electron Hydro and its CEO last year agreed to pay more than a million dollars in fines for their illegal use of artificial turf in the Puyallup River four years ago. On Tuesday, Electron Hydro’s owners will be back in court – this time in a suit brought by the Puyallup Tribe under the Endangered Species Act.

B.C. groups request review of tire chemical linked to salmon deaths
Peter Ross, senior scientist at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, says the mystery of coho dying in urban waterways had persisted for years, until a 2020 study uncovered the role of a particular chemical used in tire rubber.

Environmental groups celebrate court ruling as a win for at-risk birds in B.C. and beyond
Court case was launched against backdrop of old growth logging protests on Vancouver Island.

Loggerhead sea turtle found at Pedder Bay
The turtle, typically found much farther south, was rushed to the Vancouver Aquarium suffering from hypothermia.

Thousands of Chinook wasted as bycatch in B.C. fishery, new report finds
Nearly 30,000 Chinook salmon were wasted as bycatch in the Canadian trawl fishery, which was targeting hake and walleye pollock, a new report from Canadian fisheries officials found.

UW's Burke Museum working with Native tribes to repatriate Indigenous artifacts
Museums across Washington state may no longer display some Native artifacts without permission under a new federal rule.

Friday, February 2, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 2, 2024

Aloha Groundhog Friday!
The groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through much of the Eastern United States, across Canada and into Alaska. Groundhog Day is an annual event when groundhogs are brought outside and are observed to see if they see their shadow or not. If they see their shadow, it is said that there will be six more weeks of winter. If they do not, it means the weather will be mild in the upcoming weeks, and spring will come early.

Plastic bag bans have already prevented billions of bags from being used, report finds
Over the past several years, U.S. cities and states have passed hundreds of policies restricting the sale and distribution of single-use plastic bags. A new report says these laws have largely succeeded in their goal of reducing plastic bag use.

Endangered baby orca J60 missing, presumed dead
On Saturday, a three-person team from the Center for Whale Research spotted most of J Pod in Washington’s San Juan Channel between San Juan Island and Shaw Island. They documented the orcas from their research boat, with telephoto lenses and a federally permitted drone, for nearly two hours and observed every member of J Pod -- except J60.

Trans Mountain expansion hits 'technical issues,' possibly delaying completion
The Crown corporation building the massive project, which had previously stated it expected to have the pipeline in-service near the end of the first quarter, said Monday it has once again run into construction challenges in B.C. and pushed that date back.

BC population to hit 7.9 million by 2046, as growth rate soars: report
The new B.C. government report based on publicly available data predicts a 44-per-cent population increase compared to the 2023 population of 5.5 million.

The door to B.C.’s liquefied natural gas export sector is about to open. Here’s what you need to know
As LNG Canada completes construction and prepares to bring operations online, the export facility could 'open a gateway' for other projects to proceed. But B.C.’s gas export sector faces stricter emissions policies, unpredictable market shifts and climate disasters as it tries to maintain its place in an uncertain future.

Reviving the Samish Tribe’s kelp
Researchers are documenting the decline of once-plentiful kelp beds in an effort to reverse the trend.

Lawsuits fly, as regulators come to grips with a toxic tire chemical
A lawsuit filed against 13 of the largest tire manufacturers in this country seeks to ban the chemical 6PPD from its universal use in tires, or else force tire companies to pay for stormwater-mitigation measures that can remove the chemical or otherwise protect salmon.