Salish Sea Communications

Friday, March 17, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 17 2023

Aloha Sleep Friday!
World Sleep Day exists to highlight and celebrate the importance of quality, healthy sleep. It has the goal of bringing attention and awareness to sleep problems and disorders, while promoting prevention and management of them, in order to reduce them in society. Other related goals of the day are to increase research of sleep medicines and to come to a better understanding of sleep conditions. Up to 45% of the world's population has a sleep problem, and most of these problems can be prevented or treated, but only about one in three people seek treatment.

Oregon researchers develop new treatment for endangered sea stars
For this new treatment, researchers at the aquarium place a sea star in cold water, feed it probiotics and provide medicated baths, and reported they’ve saved 17 specimens so far.

WA lab scrambles to save sunflower sea star, which may get listed as threatened
Once an ubiquitous delight of the Salish Sea, the sunflower star may soon be listed as threatened. A small lab at Friday Harbor could breed a new generation of the species.

Kiska, the last captive killer whale in Canada, has died
The Ontario government says Kiska, the last captive killer whale in Canada, has died. Kiska is believed to have been 47 years old and was captured in Icelandic waters in 1979.

Banking on the Seaweed Rush
Seaweed farmers promise to feed us, combat climate change, support coastal communities, provide wildlife habitat, and more. Can seaweed do it all?

An invisible climate killer is lurking behind B.C.’s LNG boom
Notoriously difficult to track, methane emissions disproportionately fuel the climate crisis.

What researchers learned studying PNW orcas hunting for salmon
In a first-of-its-kind study of the hunting behaviors of salmon-eating orcas, researchers found stark differences in two populations of killer whales that may have implications for their survival.

EPA moves to limit toxic 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed limiting the amount of harmful "forever chemicals" in drinking water to the lowest level that tests can detect, a long-awaited protection the agency said will save thousands of lives and prevent serious illnesses, including cancer.

BC Approves New LNG Plant, Introduces Oil and Gas Emission Caps
Haisla Nation welcomes green light, but critics sound warning on threat to province’s climate plan.

National Audubon Society, pressured to remove slave-owning naturalist’s name, keeps it
The prominent bird conservation group weighed — but decided against — shedding its ties to John James Audubon, a famed naturalist who was also an unabashed enslaver.

Is BC LNG Really Green?
Industry says exporting gas will cut emissions. Not true, say experts.

Why Canada likely won't need any more big new oil pipelines after Trans Mountain
Construction of the Trans Mountain expansion project is set to wrap up later this year, and it's likely the last new oil export pipeline the country will ever need.

Idled Whatcom County Intalco smelter closure announced by Alcoa
The Intalco aluminum smelter west of Ferndale has been permanently closed, according to a news release Thursday, March 16, from Alcoa Corporation.

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, March 10, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 10 2023

Aloha Mario Friday!
Mario Day was started by Mario Fascitelli as "a day for all persons named Mario." The date of March 10 was chosen because an abbreviation of the day, MAR10, looks similar to MARIO. Eventually, fans of the video game character Mario began celebrating him on the day. Beginning in 2016, Nintendo officially began embracing the day.

A treaty to protect the world's oceans has been agreed after a decade of talks
For the first time, United Nations members have agreed on a unified treaty to protect biodiversity in the high seas — nearly half the planet's surface — concluding two weeks of talks in New York.

Coastal First Nation’s cutting-edge ocean wave energy project just got a million-dollar boost
A cutting-edge clean energy project to use ocean waves to power a coastal First Nation’s return to its traditional territory on Vancouver Island’s wild west coast just got a surge in funding. To buoy the next stages of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation’s Yuquot Wave Energy Project, $1 million was granted to one of the initiative’s partners, the University of Victoria’s Pacific Regional Institute for Marine Energy Discovery.

Sauk-Suiattle lawsuit against Seattle City Light headed back to trial court
A state appeals court has sent a lawsuit accusing Seattle City Light of false advertising back to King County Superior Court, giving the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe another chance to argue what is called greenwashing.

Fish in hot water: decades of logging tied to warmer temperatures in unprotected salmon-bearing streams
New research finds logging restrictions along small, unprotected streams could go a long way to keeping water cool and safe for the at-risk fish.

These Rare and Beautiful BC Reefs Fight Climate Change
So why hasn’t the government cancelled oil and gas exploration permits that could damage them?

WA greenhouse gas allowance auction raises estimated $300M

Washington state's first auction of greenhouse-gas pollution allowances has generated an estimated $300 million as companies, consumers and the Legislature get a glimpse of the cost of emitting greenhouse gases that are increasing climate catastrophes.

Canada's single-use plastic ban faces its first legal test
Canada's single-use plastic regulations face their first legal test today as the plastics lobby and the federal government head to court.

B.C. coal mines' economic impact overstated: study
The report, authored by six scholars including SFU professor Rosemary Collard and UBC professor Jessica Dempsey, concludes the province’s environmental impact assessment process did not protect wildlife habitat as intended.

B.C. salmon farms in Broughton Archipelago shuttered after First Nations’ decision: ‘we’re over the moon’
Several more fish farms are set to be removed from coastal waters after three First Nations chose not to consent to their continued operation in the Broughton Archipelago.

It's a good day to celebrate Billy Frank Jr. (March 9)
On March 9, each year, several Northwest tribes, schools, and public agencies celebrate Billy Frank Jr. Day. Billy Frank Jr.

Climate change is posing a serious threat to Canada — and B.C. in particular, intelligence service says
Significant parts of the province could be lost to rising sea levels, according to CSIS.

Friday, March 3, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review March 3 2023

Aloha Hergé Friday!
The Belgian cartoonist Georges Prosper Remi, who died on this day in 1983, was known by the pen name Hergé, from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials RG. He is best known for creating "The Adventures of Tintin," the series of comic albums which are considered one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century.

Hundreds of WA plants, animals at risk of extinction
Over a third of species and ecosystems in the United States are at risk of disappearing, including hundreds of plants and animals in Washington. In a newly released report, conservation research group NatureServe analyzed data from its network of more than 1,000 scientists across the United States and Canada.

Sapsucker housing crisis: endangered woodpecker ‘condos’ are being clear cut
Almost two decades after the Williamson’s sapsucker was listed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, the B.C. government continues to sanction logging in the bird’s old-growth forest critical habitat.

Tuesday marks 22 years since the Nisqually earthquake. Here’s what WA residents remember
It was the strongest quake to rattle the region since a 6.7 magnitude earthquake in 1965.

Dam owner pleads guilty after spilling turf, tire bits in Puyallup River
The Washington Attorney General’s office is recommending that Electron Hydro and owner Thom Fischer pay a $1 million penalty for a misdemeanor violation, with most of the money going to help restore the river.

Tacoma pioneer of politics put environmental justice on the map in Washington state
Tacoma named a park in her honor last February for Black History month, but still relatively few people seem to know much about Tacoma resident Rosa Franklin.

‘Help the kelp!’ Northwest groups try to aid struggling kelp forests
There's a rallying cry at various bays and beaches up and down the West Coast; it's "Help the kelp!" The towering brown seaweed with the floating bulb on top is in steep decline.

First auction held for ‘licenses to pollute’ in Washington
A big list of carbon polluters in Washington is now subject to a cap and trade regulation system. The first auction was held Tuesday for permits to emit greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

Clouds Building over BC LNG Projects
British Columbia’s NDP government is expressing doubts about growing the province’s liquefied natural gas industry while the BC Liberal Opposition wants more LNG projects approved faster.

Human Elements: Reviving Indigenous methods of habitat restoration
The Guardian Watchmen, a group of Wei Wai Kum First Nations citizens, use traditional methods to protect Vancouver Island's fragile ecosystems.

Friday, February 24, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 24 2023

Aloha Twin Peaks Friday!
"Diane, it's 11:30 a.m., February 24th. Entering the town of Twin Peaks," FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle MacLachlan, dictates into his tape recorder, as he makes his entrance into the town of Twin Peaks and into the television series of the same name. He's going to the town to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer, the homecoming queen, who mysteriously died earlier the same day. The year is 1989 and the date is February 24—a date that will later become known as Twin Peaks Day.

Washington state starts capping climate pollution from its biggest sources
A new cap on industrial emissions took effect on Jan. 1, and the state is now gearing up for its first auction of pollution allowances, which will force some major polluters to pay for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit, on Feb. 28.

Denman Island ferry-terminal expansion on hold
Protesters had been blocking the project at Gravelly Bay, which involved cutting down more than 100 trees.

PSE pushes to control new renewable energy projects in WA
Puget Sound Energy is pushing for legislation that would help it secure a large ownership stake in new renewable projects in the state.

Puget Sound Orcas are Starving. Is the Solution Shutting Down Alaskan Chinook Fisheries?
An estimated 97 percent of the Chinook caught by that Alaskan fishery spawn outside Alaska. Many of those fish might normally nourish the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs) – our Puget Sound orcas.

Fisheries Department says it will shut 15 salmon farms off B.C.'s coast to protect wild fish
Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray has announced the federal government will not renew licences for 15 open-net Atlantic salmon farms around British Columbia's Discovery Islands.

Lipid Content of Fraser River Chinook Salmon Is Lipid-rich and Energy Dense, Which Is Important for Killer Whales’ Diet
Not all Chinook salmon are created equal, which has a significant impact on the energy levels of southern resident killer whales.

How widespread are these toxic chemicals? They’re everywhere.
While concern about PFAS compounds, also known as “forever chemicals” because they break down very slowly, has largely focused on people, the pollutants have also been detected in wildlife.

Biosolids to be shipped to Nanaimo as tree fertilizer
Land application of the biosolids is something the Capital Regional District vowed it would never do since the early stages of the $775-million wastewater treatment plant.

Melanie Mark, 1st First Nations woman to serve in B.C. Legislature, delivers tearful resignation
Mark, MLA for Vancouver–Mount Pleasant, broke into tears and pulled no punches about her experiences in provincial politics, saying that "institutions fundamentally resist change ... particularly colonial institutions like this Legislative Assembly and government at large."

Hydropower in western U.S. resurges after hitting 20-year low
More snow and rain in 2022 fueled a 17% surge in power production in Washington, including a 19% increase at Grand Coulee Dam, the nation’s largest producer of hydropower.

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 17 2023

Aloha Cabbage Friday!
Cabbage is a hardy vegetable that grows especially well in fertile soils. There are various shades of green available, as well as red or purple types. Head shape varies from the standard round to flattened or pointed. Most varieties have smooth leaves, but the Savoy types have crinkly textured leaves. Cabbage is easy to grow if you select suitable varieties and practice proper culture and insect management. Always rega

The worst house guests: European green crabs are invading B.C. waters
A monumental effort is underway to contain the spiny creatures, the bodies of which are flash frozen and dumped at landfills or churned into compost. But one First Nation is arguing that, given the price of groceries, we should rethink the way we eradicate invasive, but edible, species.

‘Rights of nature’ movement gains steam in Pacific Northwest. Can it help species on the brink?
Seattle City Light wants to extend its license for three dams on the Skagit River for another three to five decades, and tribes and other environmental groups have been pushing the utility to do more for salmon.

Nuxalk Nation celebrates return of totem pole from museum
Just over three years have passed since hereditary chiefs travelled to the RBCM to seek the return of the pole, a second one and other artifacts.

News outlet, journalist suing RCMP after 2021 arrest at B.C. pipeline protest camp
A freelance photojournalist who was arrested in November 2021 at a resistance camp established by opponents of the Coastal GasLink pipeline west of Prince George, B.C., announced Monday that she, along with the news outlet The Narwhal, have filed a lawsuit against the RCMP in the wake of the incident.

TC Energy looking to complete Coastal GasLink pipeline by year end
Costs have more than doubled on the 670-kilometre natural gas pipeline and could increase up to a further $1.2 billion if construction is not completed this year.

B.C. expands old-growth logging deferral to 2.1 million hectares, promises greater First Nations collaboration
The British Columbia government announced new measures Wednesday it says will better protect old growth by working with First Nations while it ramps up investments to encourage innovation in an industry that has been plagued by job losses.

Denman Island protesters block ferry terminal expansion
On Monday, B.C. Ferries’ contractor from Campbell River was prevented from cutting down trees to make way for the expanded Gravelly Bay B.C. Ferries terminal.

Friday, February 10, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 10 2023

Aloha Umbrella Friday!
Umbrellas were used in ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, India, and the Middle East, as early as the fourth century BCE. The first recorded collapsible umbrella dates to 21 CE in China. The canopies of ancient umbrellas were built with different materials than those that are used today, being made of feathers, leaves, and leather; however, their shape was reminiscent of today's umbrellas. The term more associated with the sunshade umbrella is the parasol.

Woodfibre LNG project near Squamish, B.C., seeks amendments to environmental assessment
A liquefied natural gas project that would produce around two million tonnes of the fossil fuel a year near Squamish, B.C. — about 64 kilometres north of Vancouver — for export is seeking changes from Environment and Climate Change Canada over how it is required to monitor for marine mammals affected by underwater noise, such as pile driving, during construction.

By 2050, Washington might need to buy energy from other states
If Washington reaches its goal of weaning itself from fossil fuels and continues its drive to replace gas-powered cars with electric vehicles, we will need to start importing electricity by 2050, according to calculations by the Washington Department of Commerce.

‘A century in the making’: Canada adds federal protection to Indigenous-declared marine refuge
When the Mamalilikulla First Nation unilaterally declared an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area in their traditional territory in late 2021, it was as much to protect rare corals and sponges as reestablish connection to lands and waters from which the community had been forcefully removed. Now Canada is backing the nation, adding marine protections under federal law.

'A scientific sin': 16 Canadian salmon scientists claim DFO sea lice report was manipulated
16 scientists slam a recent DFO report that found salmon farms had an "insignificant" impact on wild salmon infestations — claiming the report's authors cherry-picked data, ignored scientific consensus and failed to consult with experts outside the department.

Pink sea urchins on the move, a sign of climate change
The pretty pink urchins that live in deep water off the coast of Vancouver Island are slowly but surely moving into shallower places as food sources and oxygen levels decline due to a warming ocean.

Big Oil walks back climate pledges as earnings show 2022 was their most profitable year ever
Financial results from the biggest energy companies in the world this week show that last year was their most profitable year ever, prompting many of them to scale back previous commitments to pivot more toward renewable energy.

Alberta is on a blitz to promote B.C.’s LNG industry. Critics say it’s time to ‘keep out’
Alberta’s energy war room campaign to promote the carbon-intensive LNG industry comes as B.C. admits it will miss emissions targets, even without accounting for new LNG.

‘We should avoid monitoring’: feds quietly backed off while Coastal GasLink pipeline work killed fish
For months, Fisheries and Oceans Canada wouldn’t say anything about its role in monitoring the Coastal GasLink pipeline and protecting fish habitat. Internal documents show the agency was keeping an eye on construction — until it wasn’t.

Corps’ BP Cherry Point limit no limit at all, environmental groups say
Environmental groups are unhappy with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ January 23 modification to its 1996 permit that limits the volume of crude oil BP can handle at its Cherry Point facility. They say the ceiling would allow the oil company to double its shipping capacity.

First Nations, B.C. groups launch coalition to save Pacific salmon from extinction
First Nations Fisheries Council of B.C. is joining with the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance, the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the First Nations Summit and the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance to find solutions to collapsing salmon runs.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review February 3 2023

Happy Birthday, Elmo!
Elmo is a red Muppet monster character on the long-running PBS/HBO children's television show Sesame Street. A furry red monster who has a falsetto voice and illeism, he hosts the last full five-minute segment on Sesame Street, "Elmo's World", which is aimed at toddlers.

Pacific salmon seem to be getting smaller. Here’s what that might mean for the future.
The number of salmon returning to Bristol Bay Alaska from the Pacific Ocean last year was higher than it’s been in at least 20 years. But the fish themselves are smaller. And that seems to be true for other salmon across the region.

Port acquisition marks next step in toxic cleanup on Everett waterfront
The Port of Everett voted earlier this month to accept a donation of private land adjacent to the contaminated former Jeld-Wen site — a donation port managers say will ensure environmental fallout from the site is properly managed when cleanup efforts begin, possibly by the end of 2023.

EPA blocks Alaska Pebble Mine in salmon-rich Bristol Bay region
The Environmental Protection Agency has blocked development of the Pebble Mine project in a corner of the Bristol Bay watershed, a vast and pristine swath of southwest Alaska that sustains the greatest sockeye salmon runs on the planet.

The U.S. reinstates road and logging restrictions on the largest national forest
A federal agency said Wednesday it is reinstating restrictions on road-building and logging on the country's largest national forest in southeast Alaska, the latest move in a long-running fight over the Tongass National Forest.

San Juan Islands National Monument
The Bureau of Land Management's San Juan Islands National Monument Resource Management Plan (RMP) and Record of Decision (ROD) is available to review on their ePlanning site at https://go.usa.gov/xucJE, establishing their long-term management goals for the area.

2 provincial parks in B.C. being considered as part of treaty settlement with First Nations
Two provincial parks in the southern Vancouver Island region may be returned to local First Nations as part of the modern treaty process. The Songhees and T'Sou-ke Nations are in the final negotiation stage of the B.C. Treaty Process.

Forestry industry sustainable management claim questioned
The Competition Bureau has opened an inquiry to see if forestry industry claims of sustainable management on vast stretches of Canadian woodlands are false advertising.

The cost of a controversial B.C. pipeline keeps rising, leading to plunging share prices
North American pipeline operator TC Energy Corp on Wednesday raised its cost estimate more than expected for completing its troubled Coastal GasLink project, sending share prices sharply lower.