Salish Sea Communications

Friday, December 15, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review December 15 2023

Aloha Bill of Rights Friday!
On December 15, 1791, Virginia ratified the first ten amendments of the Constitution. Known as the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments outline the rights of citizens vis-à-vis the federal government. They guarantee that citizens have civil rights and liberties such as freedom of speech, press, and religion; they establish rules for due process of law; they confirm that citizens have rights beyond those spelled out in the Constitution; and they affirm that powers not delegated to the federal government are left to the people and states. It is on today's anniversary of the ratification and implementation of the Bill of Rights that we celebrate Bill of Rights Day.

Washington State residents ask: What is our wildlife agency for?
Public backlash over a new policy reveals a deeper divide over the future of conservation.

How WA’s king tides amp up flood risks amid global sea level rise
Last winter, when the king tide rolled in with heavy rains and an extreme low-pressure system, water from the Duwamish River rushed into Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, flooding homes, sparking broader evacuations and catching the city off guard. Decades ago that flood would have been thought unlikely, perhaps even statistically impossible, But no more.

Olympic Pipeline leak released 25,000 gallons of gasoline
A small tube between the main portion of the Olympic Pipeline and a pressure-check valve failed Sunday in the Skagit Valley, spilling gasoline into nearby creeks not far from Mount Vernon. About 30,660 gallons were released when a tube — 3/8 of an inch in diameter — failed.

18 California children are suing the EPA over climate change
Eighteen California children are suing the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming it violated their constitutional rights by failing to protect them from the effects of climate change. This is the latest in a series of climate-related cases filed on behalf of children.

Dredging Neah Bay Entrance Channel will improve Strait of Juan de Fuca, Salish Sea oil spill response
A hydraulic pipeline dredge will deepen the 4,500-foot entrance channel to -21 feet from its current depth, allowing unrestricted access for ocean-going tugs, barges, and larger ships transiting Neah Bay during low tide.

Mlitary testing reveals hundreds of drinking water wells contaminated with PFAS in WA
Hundreds of drinking water wells near military bases or other facilities in Washington have been contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, according to a Seattle Times analysis of the past two years of test results published by the military.

Climate talks end on a first-ever call for the world to move away from fossil fuels
In the final weeks of the hottest year in recorded history, the international body responsible for limiting global warming and its disastrous effects called on countries to transition away from the chief cause of climate change – fossil fuels – for the first time.

Arctic "report card" points to rapid and dramatic impacts of climate change
The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the global average as a result of human-caused climate change, driven primarily by burning fossil fuels, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's annual Arctic Report Card, released Tuesday.

Washington raises $2B in first year of carbon pollution auctions
Washington raised another $373.6 million in its final carbon auction of 2023, bringing the total to slightly more than $2 billion in the first year of the state cap-and-invest program, the Ecology Department announced Wednesday.

The future of ‘cap-and-trade’ carbon markets could hinge on Washington state
Washington state is facing backlash over the program’s perceived contribution to high gas prices. A voter initiative that’s likely to be on the ballot next year, stoked by anger over prices at the pump, threatens to repeal it altogether.

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, December 8, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review December 8 2023

The hanukkiah

Aloha Hanukkah Friday!
A Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah,is a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Eight of the nine branches hold lights (candles or oil lamps) that symbolize the eight nights of the holiday; on each night, one more light is lit than the previous night, until on the final night all eight branches are ignited. The ninth branch holds a candle, called the shamash ("helper" or "servant"), which is used to light the other eight.

B.C. environment minister hails climate progress but advocates say LNG growth risks it all
B.C.'s environment minister says 2023's progress report on greenhouse gas reductions shows the NDP government's climate plan is working but environmental groups warn continued development of the liquefied natural gas sector could reverse those reductions.

WA state employee files claim over order to falsify fuel forecast
A recently retired state economist has filed a complaint against the Washington State Department of Transportation, alleging he was ordered not to include Washington’s cap-and-invest costs in an early 2023 revenue forecast.

Industrial site in Whatcom County penalized $900,000 for dangerous waste violations
After two multi-million-dollar federal cleanups on the toxic polluted site owned by Trefoil in Whatcom County, the state Department of Ecology has issued a $900,000 penalty to the property owners, Jagroop S. Gill and Campbell Land Corporation (collectively referred to as Treoil), for failure to comply with Washington’s dangerous waste laws.

Feds propose shooting one owl to save another in Pacific Northwest
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to enlist shooters to kill more than 500,000 barred owls over the next 30 years in the Pacific Northwest to preserve habitat for northern spotted owls, a protected species.

Canada thinks LNG exports can reduce carbon pollution. Now it’s digging for proof
Oil and gas industry lobbyists have long pushed a controversial theory that exports of Canadian LNG could actually help lower global greenhouse gas emissions by displacing more carbon-intensive energy sources like coal.

Huge spike in herring killed in B.C. salmon farm operations: DFO data
Some juvenile herring caught in salmon hydrolicing are having their eyes blown out, says conservation group.

WA proposes ban on ‘forever chemicals’ in clothes, other products
The Washington State Department of Ecology has proposed bans and new reporting requirements for toxic chemicals used to repel water, heat and fuel in some clothing, firefighting gear and cleaning products.

Friday, December 1, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review December 1 2023

Aloha Rosa Parks Friday!
Rosa Parks Day celebrates the legacy of Rosa Parks, a woman who is a symbol of equality, civil rights, and the American Civil Rights Movement. The holiday is celebrated on December 1, the anniversary of the date in 1955 on which she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. On that day, Rosa Parks was riding a Montgomery bus home from her department store job, where she worked as a seamstress. She was seated in the front row designated for black people, and when some white passengers boarded the bus and had to stand, the bus driver, James F. Blake, moved back by a row the sign that separated the races and told four black riders in the row to move back. Three complied, but Rosa Parks would not. Blake called the police and Parks was arrested. She had violated Chapter 6, Section 11 of the Montgomery City Code. Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Rosa Parks Day is also celebrated on her birthday, February 4.

West Coast toxic hot spots threaten endangered salmon and killer whales
Newly identified toxic metal hot spots on the West Coast further threaten endangered killer whales and their key food source, a recent study shows.

Group wants herring fishery pause in Strait of Georgia
Saanich Inlet Protection Society wants the allowable catch to be zero and a recovery plan for some areas of the strait.

Incoming: King tides to Puget Sound
The highest tides of the year are on their way. “King tides” are expected in Puget Sound on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings (Nov. 25-28). King tides come every November, December, and January, when the moon, sun, and earth line up just right...The Olympia and Shelton areas get the highest tides on Puget Sound, just as the end of a bathtub gets the highest sloshing. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Eelgrass Is Amazing. Here’s Who’s Saving It
When her daughters were young, Dianne Sanford toted them to the beach to wade alongside her in the dense eelgrass meadows growing just off the shores of where they lived in Delta, B.C...Beginning in 2002, Sanford has dedicated much of her life to mapping once-abundant eelgrass and its decline. In a “piecemeal” fashion, she surveyed roughly 80 per cent of B.C.’s coastline from Gibsons to Pender Harbour.

U.S. government invests $11M in Washington conservation efforts
The U.S. Interior Department announced this week $11 million in grants for conservation projects in Washington state. The federal grants are part of the “America the Beautiful Challenge” to restore land and water across the nation.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists wolverines as ‘threatened’ under Endangered Species Act
After more than two decades of petitions by wildlife conservation groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed wolverines as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

Stanley Park is set to lose 25 per cent of its trees due to infestation
160,000 trees to be removed over next few years due to hemlock looper moth infestation.

Feds consider removing Snake River dams in leaked agreement with plaintiffs in lawsuit
The Biden administration and federal agencies are prepared to remove four lower Snake River dams to save imperiled salmon species, according to a leaked proposal among parties in a federal lawsuit and the administration’s environmental council.

Friday, November 24, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 24 2023

Pacific sardines [NOAA]

Aloha Sardine Friday!
No other edible fish is as prevalent as the sardine, and sardines are one of the most eaten foods in the world. The small, oily fish belongs to the Clupeidae family. The name sardine dates back to the fifteenth century, likely coming from the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea, an area around which sardines were once prevalent. Sardines are still abundant in the Mediterranean, as well as in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

Huge spike in costs to help salmon could derail WA transportation budget
Come January, lawmakers will face a surprise that will strain Washington’s transportation budget for years: an up to $4 billion increase in the cost of complying with a court order to improve salmon passage under state highways.

Federal agency recommends allowing Makah whale hunt
The federal government has issued its final environmental impact statement. It recommends a ceremonial hunt of up to two or three gray whales per year. But the final decision can’t come for at least another 30 days. The Makah tribe originally made this request in 2005. Bellamy Paithorp reports. (KNKX)

B.C. releases draft framework for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem health
Conservationists are welcoming a years-in-the-making strategic plan that would prioritize the health and biodiversity of ecosystems in B.C. in provincial legislation.

First Nations decisions on tourism in B.C. must be respected: minister
'We have to make sure that we are developing a new stream of tourism that's led by Indigenous communities,' says federal tourism minister.

Study shows climate change vulnerability of trees used for urban forestry in Puget Sound
A study by an Evergreen State College student shows the climate change vulnerability of several trees used for urban forestry in the Puget Sound region.

Petitions filed for initiative to erase Washington’s ambitious climate law
Backers say they turned in nearly 420,000 signatures. The measure seeks to end the cap-and-invest program that’s brought in nearly $1.6 billion this year for pollution-fighting efforts.

Surging numbers of pink salmon raise ecological concerns
An estimated 70% of all the salmon in the North Pacific are pink salmon. Scientists say the extreme abundance of pinks could be causing a "trophic cascade" that is harming species across the food web.

Friday, November 17, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 17 2023

Leonid meteor shower [NASA]

Aloha Leonid Meteor Shower Friday!
Probably the most famous of the annual meteor showers will soon be reaching its maximum: The Leonids. These ultrafast meteors are due to reach their peak on Saturday morning (Nov. 18). The famous Leonid meteor shower produced one of the greatest meteor storms in living memory. Rates were as high as thousands of meteors per minute during a 15-minute span on the morning of November 17, 1966. That night, Leonid meteors did, briefly, fall like rain. Some who witnessed it had a strong impression of Earth moving through space, fording the meteor stream.

Commercial fishing groups sue 13 US tire makers over rubber preservative that's deadly to salmon
The 13 largest U.S. tire manufacturers are facing a lawsuit from a pair of California commercial fishing organizations that could force the companies to stop using a chemical added to almost every tire because it kills migrating salmon.

A proposed 50-acre oyster farm causes concern for neighbors
Mark and Christin Herinckx had only been living in their home on Oakland Bay for a year before they learned about the proposal by Taylor Shellfish: a 50-acre oyster farm, the size of several aircraft carriers, in the middle of the bay right behind their new house.

Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against WA’s carbon-pricing law
The private operator of a natural gas power plant in Grays Harbor County must continue to buy pollution allowances, a federal judge ruled, further protecting Washington’s Climate Commitment Act against those looking to overturn the legislation.

Debate over Pebble mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region moves to dueling Supreme Court briefs
The company seeking to develop the controversial copper mine is sticking to its plans, despite federal action that barred permitting for the project.

Dabob Bay area expanded
The state Department of Natural Resources has added another 671 acres to the Dabob Bay Natural Area by moving lands into the state’s new carbon sequestration program as the first of what will ultimately be 2,000 acres in the program.

WA raises $260 million in most-recent carbon-pricing auction
Washington’s latest auction of carbon-emission allowances raised an estimated $260 million. In all, about 31.9 million carbon allowances have been sold this year, hauling in more than $1.5 billion. Each allowance represents one metric ton of emissions from the state’s biggest greenhouse-gas polluters.

Report raises concerns about tracing water quality, salmon safety
The U.S. and Washington environmental agencies are not adequately tracking how high water temperatures and oxygen-depleting substances are harming Puget Sound’s salmon, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.

Friday, November 10, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 10 2023

Aloha Sesame Street Friday!
Sesame Street first aired on November 10, 1969, and for generations has helped young children learn. It is the longest-running and most widely viewed children's program in the world. Children in more than 150 countries watch it, over 30 international versions of it are produced, and it has won more Emmy Awards than any other television show.

U.S. regulators will review car-tire chemical that kills salmon, upon request from West Coast tribes
U.S. regulators say they will review the use of a chemical found in almost every tire after a petition from West Coast Native American tribes that want it banned because it kills salmon as they return from the ocean to their natal streams to spawn.

Returning grizzly bears to the North Cascades
There are cultural, ecological and legal obligations to return the bears.

A billion dollars for nature in B.C. as long-awaited agreement is signed
Federal, provincial and First Nations leaders gathered against the backdrop of Burrard Inlet Friday to announce a long-awaited nature agreement that promises further protections for old-growth forests and at-risk species.

Low returns so far for chum, coho on Goldstream River
The return of chum and coho salmon to spawn in the Goldstream River so far is well below last year, according to hatchery officials monitoring the run.

Trudeau government failing to meet emissions target for 2030, audit finds
Key portions of the climate plan aren’t being prioritized, while responsibility for emissions reductions has been scattered across government, environment commissioner said.

B.C. acquires land to expand 5 provincial parks
The B.C. government is set to increase the size of five provincial parks in what it says is an effort to enhance recreational opportunities and improve ecosystem health across the province. The acquisitions are worth about $1.9 million.

Bigg's killer whale sightings in Salish Sea reach all-time high
The Orca Behavior Institute says this is the ninth year out of the last 10 that the record has been broken.

Puget Sound ecosystem holding on, but recovery remains uncertain, says latest status report
Efforts to restore ecological health to Puget Sound have largely failed to meet recovery goals, yet fish and wildlife populations are still hanging on, according to a new report that describes many struggling populations as neither increasing nor decreasing to a significant extent.

Friday, November 3, 2023

Salish Sea News Week in Review November 3 2023

Aloha Jellyfish Friday!
Jellyfish consist of about 95 percent water, and are not actually fish, since they are invertebrates that don't have any bones. They have a nerve network, but no central nervous system or brains, nor a circulatory system or respiratory system. Jellyfish stomachs are found in their umbrella-shaped bodies, which are known as bells, and jellyfish have tentacles with cnidocytes, a type of exploding cell. Found in oceans around the world, most jellyfish eat plankton, fish larvae, and fish eggs, and are eaten by the likes of sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, and tuna and other fish.

Second snow crab season canceled as researchers pinpoint cause
The precipitous drop of Alaskan snow crab populations by 90% to only one billion currently is attributed to warming ocean temperatures caused by climate change.

Cigarette butts remain Vancouver's most littered item — and a seemingly unsolvable waste problem
cigarette butts are still the No. 1 most littered item in Vancouver, where several education and mitigation programs over the years — including the threat of up to $10,000 in fines — have done little to make it socially unacceptable to discard them in the street.

Conservationists fail in push to tighten WA wolf killing rules
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission rejected a petition to update rules around when the state authorizes lethal action against wolves that attack livestock.

Despite opposition and environmental violations, major B.C. pipeline project nearly complete
TC Energy says the 670-km Coastal GasLink pipeline has been fully installed from Dawson Creek to Kitimat.

Lower Snake River dam removal still possible as talks continue
Dam removal on the Lower Snake River is still on the table as talks continue over salmon survival and the operation of dams in the Columbia Basin.

Capturing Carbon with Seaweed: What We Know, What We Don’t, and What We’re Totally Unsure About
Towering underwater kelp forests are often likened to trees, but seaweed carbon sequestration is far more complex than in soil-bound ecosystems.

Protection of B.C.'s marbled murrelet reaches federal court
A federal order to protect marbled murrelet nests — along with 24 other migratory bird species — failed to protect wider habitat they need to survive, hears justice.

Birds in the Americas Will No Longer Be Named After People
The American Ornithological Society has committed to replacing all bird names derived from people so as not to honor figures with racist pasts.