Salish Sea News Week in Review October 11 2024

Aloha Egg Day!
World Egg Day celebrates eggs and highlights their versatility and the benefits they bring to people of all ages. The day has a different theme each year, and celebrations are held in countries all around the world. Eggs are nutrient-rich, being high in protein as well as in 13 vitamins and minerals that the body needs, such as choline, vitamin B12, iron, and iodine. They improve brain function, support physical strength and the immune system, and aid with child development.

Endangered Southern Resident orcas return to Puget Sound
Whale researchers on Saturday spotted orcas that are part of the endangered Southern Resident pod. They’re back in Puget Sound, for the first time since April.

Have you considered the Canada Goose?
Giant Canada geese, so ubiquitous today in cities across the country, were once considered extinct. What can we learn from watching them up close?

Orca census shows declining population; researchers discuss risk of extinction
Three deaths and one birth among the southern resident killer whales have been documented over the past year.

What happens to shipping containers when they have been lost at sea?
More than 20,000 shipping containers have tumbled overboard in the last decade and a half.

Carbon dioxide pollution in the West could drop with expansion of electrical grid, report says
Planet-warming carbon dioxide pollution could dramatically drop in the West if a dozen electrical energy transmission projects currently proposed or being built are completed in the next five years, a new report found.

Are WA schools ready for earthquakes? We don't know
Seismic data helps prioritize building improvements and inform emergency planning. But the data is inconsistent, incomplete and difficult to access.

(Re)explaining Washington’s Climate Commitment Act
Understanding the cap-and-invest law that Washington Initiative 2117 would repeal.

Unravelling the complicated past of B.C.’s newest pipeline conflict
B.C. has until the end of November to decide if the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line requires a new environmental assessment. 

Native bees are an important piece of the pie. Why aren’t we protecting them?
Our food security relies on a diversity of pollinators on Canadian farms. Honeybees get a lot of credit, but they’re pushing native species out.

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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Salish Sea News Week in Review October 4 2024

Aloha Diversity Friday!
Taking place during Global Diversity Awareness Month, National Diversity Day is "a day to celebrate and embrace who we are, despite our differences, no matter what race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, or disability. A day to reflect on and learn about different cultures and ideologies. A day to vow acceptance and tolerance. A day to consciously address these areas at educational and religious institutions, as well as in the workplace and at home."

Oregon’s offshore lease sale canceled as bidders back out, governor raises concerns
Oregon’s upcoming floating offshore wind auction has been canceled because only one of the five companies eligible to bid was still interested. 

Why the Salish Sea's new baby orca surprised researchers
News of L90 becoming a mother is a bit of an "outlier," according to NOAA wildlife biologist Brad Hanson. At her age, it's likely that L90 has been pregnant several times before but lost those calves. "She's also a relatively small female. So to be honest, we had sort of written her off, if you will,” he said. 

Bycatch of nearly 20,000 Chinook salmon shuts down Alaska trawl fishery
Nearly 20,000 Chinook salmon were caught inadvertently as bycatch in the pollock fishery in the Gulf of Alaska, shutting it down early and sparking outrage among orca scientists and wild salmon advocates. Chinook salmon are the most prized food for endangered southern resident orcas that frequent the Salish Sea. 

The grid is insufficient for renewables. BPA has a $2 billion plan
The Bonneville Power Administration announced a plan to move ahead with more than $2 billion in multiple high-voltage transmission substation and line projects necessary to reinforce the transmission grid that connects the Pacific Northwest with the American Southwest and points east.

Litigation looms over latest round of Washington state timber sales
A group pressing to save older forests from logging is threatening to sue. School officials and others are raising alarm about lost revenue.

Sister seas on opposite shores face same foe: polluted runoff
For decades, Puget Sound and its East Coast counterpart, the Chesapeake Bay, have had federal, state, and local programs aimed at restoring them to ecological health. Yet America’s two biggest estuaries south of Alaska remain in poor health.

Canadians Are Still Paying for Trudeau’s Trans Mountain Pipeline
The federal government is the owner of the $34 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX), yet charges oil companies less than half of the tolls required to recover the eye-watering capital costs owed to the Canadian taxpayer. According to a new report from the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD), this amounts to a subsidy to the fossil fuel sector of up to $18.8 billion, or $1,248 per Canadian household.

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.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told