Salish Sea Communications

Friday, December 17, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review December 17, 2021

Aloha Simpson Family Friday!
On this day in 1989, the first episode of The Simpsons aired. The popular American animated series directed by Matt Groening is set in the fictional town of Springfield and it follows the life of the Simpson family. (The rest is history.)

Archaeologists Have Unearthed Exciting Secrets on Haida Gwaii
Archaeological excavations have revealed the oldest domestic dog remains ever reported in the Americas, roughly 11,000-year-old stone tools, and the tantalizing signs of far more to come.

What killed millions of honey bees at this Everett farm?
In the summer, a beekeeper lost 240 hives on Ebey Island. An investigation found they died from pesticides, but whose?

Road to Recovery: How a Victoria company became the first carbon neutral whale watching business in Canada
Eagle Wing Tours prides itself on being the first — and still the only — carbon-neutral whale watching company in Canada.

Jay Inslee, Washington lawmakers propose electric vehicle rebates and other climate initiatives ahead of legislative session
Gov. Jay Inslee Monday rolled out his latest plans to fight climate change, including an idea to spend $100 million annually to fund rebates for people buying electric vehicles.

Seagrass wasting disease is fueled by climate change
Seagrass is suffering from a wasting disease across the Pacific Northwest, and climate change is driving the destructive outbreak, according to a new study from Cornell University.

Washington state’s next ferry officially has a name
The next Washington state ferry will bear the name Wishkah when it sails in 2024.

Natural gas furnaces, water heaters in crosshairs of some Northwest policymakers
Fossil fuel use in buildings looks to be the next frontier for climate activists at the state and local level. There's a convergence of activity in the Pacific Northwest aimed at phasing out natural gas furnaces and water heaters.

Cascadia’s Chance for a Zero-Carbon Future: What We Learned
Lessons from a year of reporting on climate solutions for the bioregion spanning BC, Washington and Oregon.

Gov. Inslee unveils new $187 million plan for Washington salmon recovery
Gov. Jay Inslee wants to invest $187 million in salmon recovery as part of his 2022 budget and policy proposals.

Federal magistrate finds flaws in Navy environmental study of Growler jet impacts
A U.S. federal magistrate has found that the Navy in an environmental impact statement “turned a blind” eye to data that did not support the goal of increasing Growler jet operations from an air station at Whidbey Island.

21-day TMX shutdown a warning of how vulnerable the fuel supply is to climate change disasters
After the longest shutdown in its 70-year history, the Trans Mountain pipeline restarted Sunday, but won't be at full capacity or pressure until January, according to engineers.

Swinomish Tribe wants to resurrect U.S. clam gardening
With climate change threatening culturally important foods, a Puget Sound tribe pushes to build the country's first clam garden of the modern era.

Federal government announces closure of most Pacific herring fisheries
Most commercial fisheries for Pacific herring on the West Coast have been closed with the exception of harvests by First Nations for food and ceremonial purposes.

Washington launches program to cut underwater noise in Puget Sound
Quiet Sound plans to work with the Northwest shipping industry to make it easier for marine creatures to navigate, find food and communicate.

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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Friday, December 10, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review December 10 2021

Aloha Human Rights Friday!
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10, 1948, and Human Rights Day commemorates this event and takes place on its anniversary. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights lays out a foundation for a more just world, and details a broad range of fundamental rights and freedoms that everyone is entitled to, "without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status." It "sets out universal values and a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations" and "establishes the equal dignity and worth of every person."

Trans Mountain pipeline to restart Monday after shutdown during B.C. floods
The Trans Mountain pipeline is set to restart Monday after record-setting rainfall, devastating flooding and landslides last month prompted a three-week precautionary shutdown that led to fuel rationing in parts of B.C.

Voter redistricting maps by commission can go forth, WA Supreme Court says
In a surprise order Friday morning, the Washington Supreme Court declined to take on the job of drafting new congressional and legislative maps.

Fish passage, dam removal studied as Seattle City Light aims to relicense three Skagit River dams
As Seattle City Light moves to extend its use of the dams for another 30 to 50 years, at stake is the cost and supply of cheap, carbon-neutral power from the dams...Now tribes and other river users are pushing City Light to do more for salmon in this round of relicensing.

It could take weeks to unload damaged containers from Zim Kingston cargo ship
Removing 60 containers damaged by fire and rough weather aboard the cargo ship Zim Kingston could take up to 12 days and involve multiple salvage contractors, and safety and regulatory agencies, says the Port of Nanaimo.

Coastal GasLink failed to fix nearly 2 dozen environmental violations along pipeline route, B.C. officials say
Officials have flagged numerous, ongoing environmental violations by Coastal GasLink that could harm sensitive waterways along the pipeline's route through northern B.C.

Tacoma adopts Climate Action Plan to eliminate carbon emissions and save $4 billion by 2050
On Nov. 30, Tacoma City Council made the decision to approve a 2030 Climate Action Plan they say will keep the city on the course to achieving zero emissions by 2050.

Retreating glaciers could create new salmon habitat, B.C. study shows
The retreat of glaciers in the Pacific mountains of British Columbia and Alaska could produce thousands of kilometres of potential new salmon habitat, a study led by researchers at Simon Fraser University shows.

Northwest Environmental Advocates Sues EPA Over Water Quality Impairment
On Tuesday, plaintiff Northwest Environmental Advocates filed a suit against the Environmental Protection Agency claiming that they have impaired the water quality in Puget Sound in Washington state.

A 2022 Agenda for Cascadia’s Climate Dreams
There are many decarbonization goals the bioregion can act on right now. Here are 25.

B.C. floods caused at least $450M in damage, insurance bureau says
The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates the insured damage caused by flooding in British Columbia last month at $450 million, calling it the "most costly severe weather event in the province's history."

Shoreline becomes latest city to ban natural gas in new buildings
The Shoreline City Council unanimously approved a new energy code on Monday that prohibits most uses of fossil fuels in new commercial buildings and larger residential buildings.

Friday, December 3, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review December 3, 2021

Aloha National Green Bean Casserole Day!
Green Bean Casserole, a favorite comfort food usually eaten at Thanksgiving, has two main ingredients: green beans and cream of mushroom soup, and it is usually topped with French fried onions. The recipe was created by Dorcas "Dottie" Reilly, in 1955, while she was working for the Campbell's Soup Company, in their home economics department. When creating the dish, the goal was to come up with something that could be made with ingredients that could be found in most people's houses. Campbell's began putting the recipe on the outside of their cream of mushroom soup cans in about 1960. In 2002 Dottie Reilly presented her original recipe card to the National Inventors Hall of Fame. National Green Bean Casserole Day was created by Jace Shoemaker-Galloway.

Flood damage could cost farmers hundreds of millions of dollars, B.C. Agriculture Council says
It could take as long as a year for some farms to begin operating again, council president says.

Arlington formally recognizes homeland of Stillaguamish people
A newly adopted acknowledgement is intended to show respect to native ancestors and their descendants.

Lummi Nation declares disaster as tens of thousands of invasive European green crab found
The Lummi Indian Business Council has passed a resolution declaring a disaster after more than 70,000 European green crab — an invasive species — were captured and removed from the Lummi Sea Pond in recent months.

Washington state seeks tighter wastewater rules for Puget Sound, but sewage plant operators push back
...The state’s Ecology Department will decide as soon as the end of the month whether to issue a new general permit for all 58 sewage plants around the Sound.

First Nation declares land in Knight Inlet an Indigenous protected area
A Campbell River-area First Nation made a bold proclamation Monday that it wants a seat at the table when it comes to stewardship of a massive area of its traditional territory that it said was taken “by a stroke of a pen” nearly a century ago.

Northern Washington tribes fear ‘devastation’ of salmon by extreme floodwaters
Too much water can be dangerous, even for fish. As officials tally losses from flood damage, tribes say impacts on fish runs won’t be known for years The Nooksack River registered some of its highest flood levels ever in the recent flooding that authorities now say caused as much as $50 million in damages.

Ship It Zero campaign pushing carriers, retailers to speed up transition to cleaner fuels
A new campaign called Ship It Zero is pushing retailers and shippers to do what it takes to achieve zero-emissions shipping by 2030.

B.C. identifies 1st case of omicron variant
Infected individual recently travelled to Nigeria and is currently isolating.

Jordan Cove developers abandon plans for pipeline, Coos Bay LNG terminal
The developers that had hoped to build the Pacific Connector Pipeline and Jordan Cove Energy Project have told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission they do not intend to move forward with the project.

Fixing septic systems is key to protecting Puget Sound shellfish
Keeping shellfish safe to eat will get harder without increasing repair and inspection of septic systems that can contaminate shellfish beds.

Friday, November 26, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 26 2021

Aloha "Good Grief" Friday
"Good grief!" is a phrase often used by Charlie Brown, the main character from Charles Schulz's comic strip, Peanuts. Schulz was born on this day in 1922, and today is dedicated to both him and his enduring comic strip. Peanuts ran almost fifty years—from October 2, 1950, until February 13, 2000, which was one day after Schulz's death. Schulz created all aspects of the comic, from the script to the art and lettering. Today, reprints of Schulz's comic appear in many U.S. newspapers.

Flood-Ravaged British Columbia Starts Barging In Fuel From U.S.
British Columbia has begun receiving U.S. fuel supplies by sea to help ease shortages triggered by some of the worst floods on record, while the government warned residents to hunker down as fresh storms hit the disaster-ravaged province.

In photos: a view of RCMP arrests of media, Indigenous land defenders on Wet’suwet’en territory
Police made arrests Friday {Nov. 19], triggering international attention of Canada's support for the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which is opposed by hereditary chiefs.

Suzuki apologizes for warning pipelines could be 'blown up' over environmental frustrations
Well-known environmentalist David Suzuki apologized Thursday for comments about pipelines being destroyed.

Wet'suwet'en pipeline opposition leader released with conditions
A key leader in the fight against the Coastal GasLink pipeline in northwestern B.C. has been released from jail with the condition she not interfere with construction of the project.

How to make Washington State Ferries shipshape again
Unless leaders at Washington State Ferries can generate a tidal wave of new money and staffing ideas, the fleet could remain in dire straits through 2022 and beyond.

One man in a kayak working to make a virtual 360-degree view of the Puget Sound shoreline
Brian Footen has made it his mission to document every tideland of the sound's nearly 1,300-mile nearshore environment, using 120 pounds of instruments as he paddles.

Recovery of Puget Sound species could hinge on better understanding of ecosystems
To restore or improve salmon habitat in a stream, the challenge is to understand what has been broken in a complex interactive system.

How to build back B.C.’s flood infrastructure better
Ninety-six per cent of dikes in the Lower Mainland are not high enough to block extreme floods. Some experts say we have to think beyond concrete.

n a single week
A timeline of how once-in-a-century flooding unfolded across B.C. Rhianna Schmunk reports.

What toll did recent flooding take on Whatcom’s salmon?
...The scope of the flood has yet to be measured exactly, but provisional data shows that it was one of the top three on record for the North and Middle Forks and the Nooksack River at Ferndale.

Tacoma liquid gas plant gets go-ahead from state pollution board
A liquified natural gas plant on the Tacoma waterfront has gotten the green light from the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board.

Friday, November 19, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 19 221

Aloha World Toilet Day!
World Toilet Day is about more than just toilets; it is about sanitation as a whole, which includes components such as hygiene and the management and treatment of wastewater. The day's goal is to inspire action to address the global sanitation crisis. Jack Sim founded the World Toilet Organization on November 19, 2001, and then declared that day to be World Toilet Day. After its founding, various organizations around the world marked the day, and it gained a new level of legitimacy in 2013 when it was formally recognized by the United Nations.

B.C. returns nearly 100 hectares of Crown land near Sechelt to shíshálh Nation
The 99.6-hectare parcel of land is located on the south shore of Salmon Inlet, about 16 kilometres north of Sechelt.

Making room for salmon
Salmon need more estuaries. We look at how local tribes are working to restore this critical habitat.

A Proposed New Marine Sanctuary Would be the First One to be Tribal-Led
The US government this week began the process to designate the country’s first tribal-led marine sanctuary. The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would protect sacred Chumash sites, feeding grounds for numerous species of whales and dolphins, sea otter populations, kelp forests, and is home to vital commercial and recreational fisheries.

Connecting the dots between B.C.’s floods, landslides and the clearcut logging of old forests
Deforestation dramatically alters how landscapes are able to cope with extreme weather events like the atmospheric river that surged across southern British Columbia earlier this week.

Land defenders arrested on Wet’suwet’en territory as RCMP enforces Coastal GasLink injunction
Elders, legal observers and media have been detained as police advance into Gidimt’en territory where land defenders closed road access earlier this week in an effort to prevent drilling under a sacred waterway. Matt Simmons reports. (The Narwhal)

Biden officials to propose road ban on much of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday will propose restoring roadless protections on more than 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a move that would overturn one of Donald Trump’s most significant changes to public lands. Juliet Eilperin reports. (Washington Post)

First fires, now floods: British Columbia and Washington reeling from atmospheric river
First they baked, then they burned, and now they’re inundated.

Friday, November 12, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 12 2021

Aloha Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day!
The fight for equality for women was at the heart of the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was born on today's date in 1815, in Johnstown, New York. The New York State legislature has since established the date as Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day. The holiday is also unofficially celebrated beyond New York by supporters of women's rights and by women's rights groups. Most known for being a women's rights advocate, her focus on the subject was all-encompassing, although perhaps her greatest attention was given to the right to vote. She was an activist for human rights on a broader scale as well, fighting for causes such as abolition.

U.S. re-opens land borders, but there is no mad rush south
The $150 to $300 cost of a COVID PCR test on return makes it cost-prohibitive to head over the border to fill up with gas or buy cheap cheese and milk.

Washington’s Fawn Sharp becomes first Tribal leader to receive diplomatic credentials
National Congress of American Indians President and Washington state Tribal leader Fawn Sharp has become the first Tribal leader to receive diplomatic credentials from the U.S. State Department.

How one Northwest tribe aims to keep its cool as its glaciers melt
Record-breaking heat took a heavy toll on the Northwest this summer, from beaches to cities to mountaintops. In the Washington Cascades, some glaciers lost an unprecedented 8% to 10% of their ice in a single hot season.

In new climate order, Inslee says Washington State vehicles to plug in
Many of Washington’s state vehicles will transition to electric over the next 19 years, according to an executive order issued by Gov. Jay Inslee.

Bellingham mayor urges tax to fund climate change programs
Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood asked the City Council to consider asking voters to approve a tax to pay for citywide programs aimed at reducing the city’s carbon footprint and helping the effort to fight global climate change.

How B.C.’s long-awaited forestry law updates leave gaps around protecting old-growth and Indigenous Rights
While environmental advocates are cautiously optimistic about proposed amendments to B.C.'s 2004 Forest Ranges and Practices Act, many worry they lack clarity and don't provide the protections the province's oldest forests need.

Most cargo containers vanished after falling overboard from ship near Victoria, B.C.
Of the 109 cargo containers that went overboard from the Zim Kingston, a cargo ship that caught fire near British Columbia last month, 105 have not been seen, according to the Canadian Coast Guard.

‘Faulty’ science used by Trump appointees to cut owl habitat
Political appointees in the Trump administration relied on faulty science to justify stripping habitat protections for the imperiled northern spotted owl, U.S. wildlife officials said Tuesday.

B.C. study shows sustainable management of salmon before colonization
The study published Wednesday in the journal Scientific Reports examined chum salmon bones dating from between 400 BC and AD 1200 from four archeological sites around Burrard Inlet.

Months later, Tacoma moves to restrict fossil fuel use on Tideflats. Some worry about loopholes
Tacoma City Council moved Tuesday to restrict the expansion of fossil-fuel infrastructure on the Tideflats, but there remains debate about whether the new land-use codes go far enough to address the climate emergency the city declared in 2019.

Whatcom County takes these steps to address local effects of global climate change
Whatcom County Council members approved a Climate Action Plan that spells out the effects of global climate change locally and makes specific recommendations on how to address them.

Friday, November 5, 2021

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 5 2021

Aloha Donut Friday!
The cookbook ”Küchenmeisterei (Mastery of the Kitchen)," published in Nuremberg, in 1485, offers a recipe for ”Gefüllte Krapfen,” sugar free, stuffed, fried dough cakes. Dutch settlers brought olykoek ("oil(y) cake") to New York (or New Amsterdam). These doughnuts closely resembled later ones but did not yet have their current ring shape. Daniela Galarza, for Eater, wrote that "the now-standard doughnut’s hole is still up for debate. Food writer Michael Krondl surmises that the shape came from recipes that called for the dough to be shaped like a jumble — a once common ring-shaped cookie. In Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People, culinary historian Linda Civitello writes that the hole was invented because it allowed the doughnuts to cook faster. By 1870 doughnut cutters shaped in two concentric circles, one smaller than the other, began to appear in home-shopping catalogues." (Wikipedia)

What's going on in the North Puget Sound? Check out Salish Current for the latest local news--independent, free to read, free from advertising, not-for-profit community-based journalism.

Ship that spilled 100+ containers could have ridden out the storm in sheltered waters
The ship that spilled more than 100 shipping containers off the Washington coast was in a holding pattern on the open ocean when it could have ridden out the storm in more sheltered waters.

Kelp’s Carbon Sink Potential Could Be Blocked by Coastal Darkening
Coastal darkening, an environmental threat researchers are only beginning to study, is found to dramatically reduce the productivity of kelp.

The Loudest Jets in the Quietest Park
In the summer of 2014, the U.S. Navy established an Electronic Warfare Range on large swathes of Washington’s Olympic National Forest and in airspace over it, plus airspace over Olympic National Park and surrounding communities.

How the Blueberry ruling in B.C. is a gamechanger for the Site C dam, extractive industries and Indigenous Rights
In a precedent-setting ruling, B.C.’s Supreme Court found the province guilty of breaching its obligations to Treaty Rights through decades of cumulative impacts. Now, the impact of that ruling is reverberating across the country.

Settlement negotiations fail between Oregon climate activists and government attorneys
Attorneys for 21 young people suing the federal government over climate change say settlement talks with the U.S. Department of Justice have failed.

‘Extremely frustrating’: B.C. announces 2.6 million hectares of at-risk old-growth, no permanent protections
The announcement, which comes one full year after B.C.’s expert panel recommended the province introduce immediate deferrals in old forests facing irreversible biodiversity loss, is short on specifics and funding for affected First Nations, critics say.

Trudeau promised to cap emissions, but Canada’s oil and gas companies have different plans
A new analysis shows the climate plans of eight Canadian oil and gas producers are ‘wholly out of line’ with Canada’s climate goals.

The Danger of the Marine Vessels that Serve Refineries
The track record for—and the potential risk of—maritime shipping of oil is even worse than the often-dismal records of pipelines and trains.

Cause of mysterious brain-invading-fungus outbreak finally discovered
Scientists have finally found the cause of a mysterious brain-invading tropical fungus outbreak that killed more than 40 dolphins and porpoises in the Pacific Northwest: humans.

Killer Whales’ Low Genetic Diversity Offers a Warning for the Future
Even after thousands of years, many killer whale populations are still reeling from the genetic bottleneck of navigating the end of the last ice age.

Puget Sound fish and wildlife populations fall short of 10-year recovery goals
A final report on the 2020 ecosystem-recovery goals for Puget Sound outlines habitat improvements for some streams, shorelines and wetlands, but it also describes ongoing declines among fish and wildlife populations that use those habitats.