Friday, June 28, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review June 28 2024


Aloha Food Truck Friday!
Food trucks vary in the type of foods they prepare and sell, from ice cream to frozen or prepackaged food, to meals prepared from scratch. A precursor of the food truck can be seen as being the chuckwagon, which was a retrofitted wagon stocked with kitchen and food supplies that gave cowhands sustenance when they were on the trail in the late 1800's. In 1872, Walter Scott, a food vendor, came up with the lunch wagon—he cut windows in a small covered wagon and sold sandwiches, pies, and coffee to workers outside of a newspaper office in Providence, Rhode Island. In the 1880's Thomas H. Buckley was manufacturing different models of these and included in them appliances such as sinks, refrigerators, and stoves.


B.C. launches lawsuit against makers of 'forever chemicals'
The British Columbia government has filed a class-action lawsuit against manufacturers of so-called "forever chemicals" it says are involved in the widespread contamination of drinking water systems.

Mass mortality: A fish scientist follows a tip about die-offs at B.C. salmon farms
DFO and operator attribute mass die-off to low oxygen, but one scientist who visited one far-flung site in a kayak worries the real cause could be more complicated.

The Estuary Smothered by a Thousand Logs
For decades, scientists have known that allowing the timber industry to store logs in estuaries kills marine life. So why does British Columbia still permit it?

Vote nears on ending ‘endangered’ status for WA wolves
The Washington State Fish and Wildlife Commission will decide next month on lowering gray wolves’ status under the state’s endangered species law.

$335M committed to protecting ecosystems off B.C. coast
The federal government has announced a new financing initiative for 17 First Nations in British Columbia to expand protection for marine ecosystems off the coast of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Supreme Court halts enforcement of the EPA’s plan to limit downwind pollution from power plants
The Supreme Court is putting the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court’s latest blow to federal regulations.

The state Department of Ecology is seeking $646,259 in damages and penalties for the spilling of diesel fuel into Haro Strait when the commercial fishing boat Aleutian Island sank off San Juan Island in August 2022.

As salmon season kicks off, some Alaska fishermen fear for their futures
A year into the the crisis in Alaska’s $6 billion commercial fishing industry, there are some signs of recovery, but major threats persist, many of which fishermen feel powerless to affect.

WA fines Home Depot $1.6M for selling hydrofluorocarbon products
The state has fined The Home Depot $1.6 million for selling illegal hydrofluorocarbon products after two years of trying to get the corporation to comply with the law, the state Ecology Department announced Thursday.



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, June 21, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review June 21 2024



Aloha National Indigenous People's Day
National Aboriginal Day, now National Indigenous Peoples Day, was announced in 1996 by then Governor General of Canada, Roméo LeBlanc, through the Proclamation Declaring June 21 of Each Year as National Aboriginal Day. It is a day recognizing and celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Indigenous peoples of Canada.


New research highlights where 'The Big One' earthquake could hit
The study confirms that the northern part of the fault, close to Vancouver Island and Washington, is most likely to produce a major earthquake. Isaac Phan Nay reports.

Railroad owes nearly $400M to WA tribe, judge rules
BNSF Railway Co. must pay the Swinomish tribe $394 million for violating the terms of an agreement that allowed the railroad to run trains across a strip of the tribe’s land in northwest Washington, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Research finds log booms harmful to B.C. salmon and fish habitats
Studies led by First Nations, conservation groups and UBC point to harm caused by storage of logs on rivers.

UVic researchers aim to regrow kelp forests
A kelp nursery in Bamfield could be growing the next Salish Sea kelp forest. Robyn Bell reports.

Metro Vancouver launches independent review of $3.86B plant
Metro Vancouver is launching an independent review of the cost of a new wastewater treatment plant that is four years beyond its original completion date and more than five times over budget.

B.C.'s 'war in the woods' grounds to be permanently protected
Old-growth forests that were environmental and Indigenous rights battlegrounds over clearcut logging in the 1980s and 1990s during British Columbia's "war in the woods" are set to receive permanent protections in a land and forest management agreement.

New bill aims to ensure permanent funding for Northwest Straits Commission
Legislation to permanently reauthorize the Northwest Straits Commission in Puget Sound was introduced by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen on June 18.

Ban on open net fish farms in B.C. delayed to 2029
The Canadian federal government says it will ban open net salmon farms in British Columbia starting in 2029 in a plan that will renew more than 60 licences across the province for another five years.



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, June 14, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review June 14 2024



Aloha Cucumber Friday!
Cucumber fruits consist of 95% water. In botanical terms, the cucumber is classified as a pepo, a type of botanical berry with a hard outer rind and no internal divisions. However, much like tomatoes and squashes, it is often perceived, prepared, and eaten as a vegetable. (Wikipedia)

Court rejects bid to review minister's order to B.C. salmon farms
The Federal Court has rejected a bid by two First Nations and salmon farm operators to review Ottawa's decision to not renew licences for 15 open-net Atlantic salmon farms in the waters off British Columbia.

Rare 7-foot fish washed ashore on Oregon’s coast gets worldwide attention
A massive rare fish thought to only live in temperate waters in the southern hemisphere has washed up on Oregon’s northern coast, drawing crowds of curious onlookers intrigued by the unusual sight.

Environment Minister Guilbeault broke the law in stalling potential spotted owl emergency order: court
‘Precedent-setting decision’ finds federal ministers must act with urgency when species face imminent threats to survival or recovery.

NW coast suffers from low oxygen, study finds. It’s becoming the norm
About half of the water near the seafloor off the Pacific Northwest coast experienced low-oxygen conditions in 2021, according to a new study. And those hypoxic conditions, which are expected to become common with global warming, threaten the food web, the study found.

Oil refiners raise quality concerns over TMX pipeline shipments
U.S. oil refiners and West Coast traders are flagging concerns about the quality of crude shipped on the newly completed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX), warning that high vapour pressure and acidity limits could deter purchases of Canadian heavy barrels.

North Shore sewage plant's bombshell budget a 'crossroads' for Metro Vancouver
The $2.83 billion cost overrun at Metro Vancouver’s North Shore wastewater treatment plant project landed like a bombshell that has prompted bigger questions about how the regional district handles such big projects and even how it’s governed.

Can a tiny shorebird stop the massive expansion of a container port?
This is the story of a mud wrestle at the Fraser River delta. On one side, a government proposal for a massive expansion of a container port. On the other, a tiny bird, the sandpiper, which relies on this place as its last stopover on a migration as long as 7,000 miles.



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, June 7, 2024

Salish Sea News Week in Review June 7 2024


Aloha First Legoland resort
Legoland Billund Resort, the original Legoland park, opened on 7 June 1968 in Billund, Denmark. The park is located next to the original Lego factory and Billund Airport, Denmark's second-busiest airport. Over 1.9 million guests visited the park in 2011, and 50 million guests have visited the park since it opened. This makes Legoland the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen.


Tribes seek to turn the tide on ocean acidity
Tribal nations and other partners look for ways to reduce ocean acidity, which has increased 30 percent in 250 years.

This Tacoma Waterway contains the most polluted water in the PNW
The Thea Foss Waterway is one of the most polluted recreational waterways in the United States, according to the Surfrider Foundation which found high levels of potentially dangerous bacteria in the Foss during 47 percent of its monthly testing visits. Only five sites were higher across the nation.

Speed restrictions, B.C. fishery closures, aim to protect southern killer whales
The federal government has announced salmon fishery closures and mandatory speed limits in areas where southern resident killer whales forage and travel in the ongoing effort to protect the endangered species.

NW Indigenous people have long history of carefully managing camas crop
A prized plant for regional Native Americans has been carefully cultivated for more than 3,500 years.

After disaster strikes, how much is it worth to rebuild?
In 2021, flooding in the Sumas Valley caused millions in damages. Rebuilding could cost more than twice as much as restoring the region to its natural state.

The tricky business of charging Washington's coming hybrid electric ferries
Every ferry terminal presents a different sort of puzzle when it comes to installing charging equipment.

Decision time approaches for two new orca species, as other issues bring new questions
Killer whales worldwide are currently identified as a single species, Orcinus orca. But two new species of orca, representing thousands of whales in the North Pacific, could be added to the scientific nomenclature within the next month. Common names for the whales such as "transients" and "residents" are also up for debate.


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