Salish Sea News Week in Review July 17 2026

Aloha Emoji Day!

An emoji is a pictogram, logogram, or ideogram embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conversation as well as to replace words as part of a logographic system. (Wikipedia) July 17 was chosen for the date of the holiday because the ? calendar emoji has that date on it. The calendar has July 17 on it because it was on that date in 2002 that iCal for Mac was announced. World Emoji Day was created in 2014 by Jeremy Burge, the founder of Emojipedia, a site that keeps track of all emojis and their definitions.

Trump administration rolls back a key protection for imperiled wildlife
The Trump administration has finalized a rule that changes how agencies enforce the Endangered Species Act.  

Microsoft's climate-warming emissions surge 25%, driven by AI
Microsoft’s total carbon emissions have increased 25% year over year, driven by the company’s aggressive buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. 

Trump taps climate skeptic to run US government’s flagship climate report
The Trump administration has tapped Matthew Wielicki, a former geochemist who has railed against “climate alarmism” and calls himself an “Earth science professor-in-exile,” to oversee the federal government’s flagship report about climate impacts on the US. 

Trump reduces size of 2 national monuments in Utah as Republicans reshape land management
Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in southern Utah have ancient cliff dwellings, petroglyphs and scenic canyons, as well as coal and uranium deposits that state officials want made available for development. 

Snohomish PUD prepares to open first battery storage site in Arlington
Washington’s first battery energy storage facility is set to open this fall in Arlington. The facility will store up to 25 megawatts of energy when it is abundant and discharge it to the grid during peak times each month to help reduce costs,

WA tribes, conservation groups sue over Trump endangered species rule 
Northwest tribal nations and conservation groups sued the Trump administration Tuesday, challenging a new rule that aims to eliminate habitat protections for imperiled species. The new rule, rescinding the longstanding definition of “harm,” would make it legal to kill and injure ESA-listed species by destroying habitat.

First Nations chiefs vote to oppose Carney government's proposed major projects reforms
Assembly of First Nations chiefs on Wednesday unanimously resolved to oppose the Carney government's sweeping proposed reforms aimed at streamlining major project approvals, if those reforms weaken environmental protections or sidestep Indigenous rights. 

Five million frogs have been relocated for industry in B.C. No one knows how many survived
Translocation mitigation has been standard in the province since 2010. Sixteen years later, researchers aren’t sure if it’s working.

Federal government refers Port of Vancouver strategy to Major Projects Office
Roberts Bank Terminal 2 considered potential 'project of national interest' 

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)salish-current.org .Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

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