Off Topic – 12 best natural swimming pools – Trip Advisor

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Ok. So this isn’t about the Olympic Peninsula. Had to share with you wonderful readers. Eye candy for any of us that love to get out into Mother Nature. I’d have to add the Slick Rock slides to the north of Sedona on the road to Flagstaff to this list, since they included Sliding Rock in N.C. I have swam in the Natural Pool in Aruba. And I wonder if they closed the hot springs on the north side of Yellowstone, (the Boiling River?) since it’s not on this list and is very accessible to almost anyone?

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Protecting The Olympic National Park From Noise Pollution- Outside Magazine

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Welcome to the Quietest Square Inch in the U.S.

And meet the man who’s made it his mission to keep it that way

Outside Magazine profiles Gordon Hempton, the acoustic ecologist who is documenting the “quietest place in the US”. His work has identified the Hoh River Valley as the quietest place in the US, and by doing so, he has put himself squarely into the controversy over the Navy’s plan to expand the use of the airspace over it for what the Navy themselves claim could be around the clock training sorties.

A must read for any of us concerned about protecting the silence that we cherish in our environment out here on the Peninsula.

http://www.outsideonline.com/2000721/americas-quietest-square-inch-and-preserving-natural-sounds

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Partnership announced to protect Chimacum Ridge.

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Just in from Caroline Robertson..Saving Chimacum Ridge from overlogging is a good idea. There has been a lot of cutting up there over the years, and this will allow more selective cutting to better protect the drainage below that affects both sides of the Valley.

Hi, I wanted to share this news: A partnership between Jefferson Land Trust, Rayonier, Ecotrust Forest Management, and The Trust for Public Land has successfully completed the first phase of a long-term project to preserve Chimacum Ridge.This provides the land trust a 5-year window to secure funding for this central and defining feature of the Chimacum landscape–850 acres of forested ridgeline that begins just south of the Chimacum crossroads and extends for approximately two and a quarter miles between Center and Beaver Valleys. Now, the Land Trust has up to five years to raise funds, most likely through a combination of grants and community support, and determine the final ownership structure for the property, with a goal of turning the Ridgeinto a publicly-accessible community forest managed for timber production through sustainable harvest techniques that maintains a mature standing forest, providing wildlife habitat, recreational trails, and benefits our water and air quality as well as producing timber.

PDN coverage today:http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150723/news/307239988/land-trust-others-acquire-ridge-top-chimacum-forest-to-avoid-clearcut More info:http://www.saveland.org/News/News_Detail.aspx?processID=190

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Resident Orca count at 81. Good news – Seattle Times and others

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Official orca census: 81 whales, including 4 babies. Up from 78 .

Researchers tracking the southern resident killer whales have photo confirmation of each whale, said Ken Balcomb, a senior scientist with the Center for Whale Research.

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Port Gamble to pump reclaimed sewage into groundwater, not Hood Canal

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Al Bergstein

This is great news. For years, some environmentalists have been saying that it’s time to stop using the Salish Sea as a toilet. That has faced skepticism by many in government roles of actually implementing it. Now, facing a lack of snowfall and rain, new systems like Port Gamble’s are looking at reuse rather that pumping out into the Sound. While this is a small system, it points to a much better way of approaching the future, one that actually might recover the Sound rather than just pollute it less. This is where we need to go, along with zero water toilets, composting toilets and other methods that are not mandated, or even approved for use yet.

Port Gamble sewage plant to protect shellfish, recharge groundwater

The historic town of Port Gamble is about to get a new-fangled sewage-treatment plant, one that will allow highly treated effluent to recharge the groundwater in North Kitsap. The old treatment plant discharges its effluent into Hood Canal, causing the closure of about 90 acres of shellfish beds. After the new plant is in operation, those shellfish beds are likely to be reopened, officials say. The new facility will be built and operated by Kitsap Public Utility District, which owns and manages small water systems throughout the county. The Port Gamble plant will be the first wastewater operation to be managed by the KPUD, which views the project as a step toward reclaiming more of Kitsap County’s wastewater by putting it to beneficial use, said manager Bob Hunter. Christopher Dunagan reports. (Watching Our Water Ways)

http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2015/07/22/port-gamble-sewage-plant-to-protect-shellfish-recharge-groundwater/

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Upcoming Climate Action Events

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Want to actually do something to help move the needle on climate change? Here’s one thing you can get involved with.

Olympic Climate Action and Carbon Washington are sponsoring three local events in support of Initiative 732, for a Revenue-Neutral Carbon Tax, featuring the Initiative’s principal author, Yoram Bauman

Carbon Washington is a grassroots campaign seeking to put Initiative 732 on the 2016 ballot. I-732 would institute a revenue-neutral carbon tax in Washington State, using revenue from a tax on fossil fuels to reduce existing taxes. There would be a full percentage point reduction in the sales tax, a fully-funded Working Families Tax Rebate, and an effective elimination of the B&O tax for manufacturers. If passed, this policy would be the strongest carbon price in the nation and would be the most significant improvement in the fairness of Washington’s tax code since the 1977 sales tax exemption on groceries.

Carbon Washington is working primarily through volunteers to collect 315,000 signatures from April-December of 2015. They have endorsements from organizations and individuals such as Citizens Climate Lobby, Seattle Business Magazine, former King County Executive Ron Sims, former County Commissioner Mike Doherty, and Port Commissioner Jim Hallett.

Yoram Bauman, Carbon Washington founder and executive committee member and

I-732’s principal author, is the world’s only stand-up Ph.D. economist.  He knows how to tackle heavy subjects in a light-hearted way and is coming to Port Angeles at the invitation of Olympic Climate Action.

Thursday, July 30, 1:05 PM:  KONP’s Todd Ortloff interviews Yoram Bauman.  AM 1450 and FM 101.7

  • Yoram will explain the rationale for I-732 and preview his Aug. 2 evening performance and Aug. 3 Chamber of Commerce appearance.

Sunday, August 2, 6:30 – 8:30 PM:  “Climate Change–It’s No Joke:  An Evening of Fun, Fossil-Fuel Fungibility, and Fundraising with Yoram Bauman.” Elwha Klallam Heritage Center, 401 E. First St. in Port Angeles.  All are invited at no charge, though the event is intended as a fundraiser.

  • Yoram will explain in a light-hearted way why economics is so basically funny and why I-732 is so important to our future and our community. Q&A, signature-gatherer signups, and fundraising are also on the agenda.  Light refreshments and socializing at 6:30, and then Yoram will try to knock carbon pollution out of the park at 7.

Monday, August 3, 12 – 1 PM:  “Why a Carbon Tax Would Be Good for Our Local Community—Let Us Count the Ways.” Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Meeting, Red Lion Hotel banquet room, 221 N. Lincoln in Port Angeles.

  • Those wanting to learn more about climate policy options in Washington state, and how those options can impact our local community, can attend this talk by Yoram. Chamber lunch rules apply; attendees must buy lunch for $15 or drinks-only for $3.

Olympic Climate Action

Contact:  Bob Sextro, (360) 683-7643, robert.sextro@noblis.org

Carbon Washington

Contact:  Yoram Bauman, (206) 351-5719, yoram@carbonwa.org

 

 

###

Who we are:  Olympic Climate Action is a group of local concerned citizens working for a safe, prosperous, sustainable future for residents of the Olympic Peninsula by addressing the threat of climate change. By sharing the best available science, OCA hopes to raise awareness of the challenges “climate chaos” poses for our community, as well as options for mitigation and action. Join us at olyclimate.org.

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Sobering news from one of the world’s top climate scientist – Washington Post

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Al Bergstein

One of the interesting recent revelations I’ve read is from Ray Kurzweil, who has shown that many if not most of human activity ends up generating exponential growth curves. In this major new scientific paper that has significant impacts for us along this coast, we see that ice loss due to global warming and the subsequent sea level rise may be showing this curve as well, instead of the ‘well behaved’ linear curve, so many scientists are hoping for.

This is must reading for anyone involved in planning low lying residential or commercial buildings on the Peninsula. The new estimates place sea level rise that we are starting to experience to be as much as ‘several meters” rather than the more conservative “1 meter” that his colleagues have been estimating. The notion of even seeing a 1 meter rise here in the next few decades will have significant impacts on many  ecosystems, and also low lying infrastructure such as the Port Townsend water treatment plant.

In the new study, Hansen and his colleagues suggest that the “doubling time” for ice loss from West Antarctica — the time period over which the amount of loss could double — could be as short as 10 years. In other words, a non-linear process could be at work, triggering major sea level rise in a time frame of 50 to 200 years.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/20/the-worlds-most-famous-climate-scientist-just-outlined-an-alarming-scenario-for-our-planets-future/?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_2_na

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Sport fishing ban in place over parts of South Coast due to drought – CBC

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Bringing global warming home to B.C…

The province is suspending sport fishing in streams and rivers throughout most of the South Coast of B.C. due to warming water temperatures and low river and stream levels. The move follows a similar ban on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands where recreational angling was suspended earlier this month. The ban on South Coast fishing takes effect July 22 to September 30. Fishing is banned in most rivers and streams in regions south of Toba Inlet in the north to the U.S. border in the south. (CBC)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sport-fishing-ban-in-place-over-parts-of-south-coast-due-to-drought-1.3160846

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The Drought and you -Tip #1

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Al Bergstein

As we head into the end of July with no rain in sight, and no letup of the drought, there’s some common sense stuff all of us should be doing. I’m not going to bore you with PowerPoint slides and endless lectures. Let’s break this down into bite sized pieces. So here’s Drought Tip #1 – Stop watering your lawns. I have seen some of you out there watering your lawns, and I don’t mean your gardens or expensive landscape. There is no reason to be watering your lawn on the Olympic Peninsula in the summer. The drill is to let it go brown all summer, and let it go green in the winter. That’s how nature works with lawns. The grass will die back but come back in the winter. Trust me. I’ve been doing this for over 16 years here. For those living in cities here, like Port Townsend, you are draining your drinking and bathing water for your lawn, and there might not be enough by summer’s end for you to drink!  For those in the county, you are lowering the water table on your well, which may go dry as they have in California by the thousands this year.

According to the Grace Communication Foundation –

Irrigating a 1,000 square foot lawn with just a half an inch of water takes about 330 gallons!

That translates into a lot of flushes in your toilet,(depending on your toilet capacity) or emptying your hot water heater (50 gallons) about 6.5 times!

So unless you are growing food or expensive landscaping, let it go brown! Thanks.

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Lack of water could temporarily shut down Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill – PDN

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Charlie Berman reports on the ongoing discussions between the city of Port Townsend and the PT Paper Mill Corp. As stated in the article, it appears that the City is using approx. 2 Million gallons a day (previous estimates I’ve read placed it at 1 M gallons but perhaps this is based on older information). The mill uses approx 8 Million gallons a day currently,and even in temporary shutdown could still use a significant amount. Read the whole story and support local journalism by subscribing to the Peninsula Daily News.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150720/NEWS/307209975/lack-of-water-could-temporarily-shut-down-port-townsend-paper-corp

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How will the Pacific Northwest change when its glaciers are gone? -Living on Earth

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Al Bergstein

I’ve read that there is a creation myth in a South American tribe that states that “when the snows leave the mountains the world will end”. Here’s a modern update to that story, as it is happening.

Glaciers set the Pacific Northwest apart and are essential for supplying the region’s drinking water, hydropower and for ensuring the survival of the region’s iconic salmon. But disappearing glaciers make the Northwest uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Washington has more glaciers than any other state, except Alaska. Some 376 glaciers feed the Skagit River. That number alone sets the Evergreen State apart from the rest of the country, but it also makes it uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Robert Boos and Ashley Ahearn report. (Living on Earth/PRI)

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-07-19/loss-glaciers-will-have-unique-effects-pacific-northwest

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Puget Sound steelhead management input sought – The Olympian

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Al Bergstein

If you are involved in fishing and interested in salmon management, here’s an opportunity for you to volunteer your input.

The public’s input is being on sought on the selection of at least three Puget Sound rivers where hatchery steelhead would not be released. The wild steelhead management zones would be an additional effort by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to conserve wild fish.

http://www.theolympian.com/outdoors/article27159301.html

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Port Gamble Bay cleanup will begin with a blessing- Kingston Community News

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Some good news. The restoration of a beautiful bay that has been impacted by 140 years of human activity. Now that the logs and logging have played out, the work continues to restore the health of this bay, which has been home to one of the S’Klallam tribes.

A ceremony will take place 10 a.m. to noon on July 23 at the former mill site to bless Port Gamble Bay. A two-year project to remove creosoted pilings and wood waste from 140 years of mill activity begins this month. Lloyd Fulton, S’Klallam elder and former mill worker, will open the ceremony with prayer. Welcoming remarks will be made by Fulton, Pope Resources CEO Tom Ringo, and Port Gamble S’Klallam Chairman Jeromy Sullivan. A prayer song will be offered, followed by a blessing of the land and water, and a Shaker prayer by Gene Jones. (Kingston Community News)

http://www.kingstoncommunitynews.com/news/315975821.html

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Dozens of sturgeon found dead in Columbia River – Tri-City Herald

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Al Bergstein

And more results of our inability to stop global warming. The mass die off of fish that have survived for hundreds of thousands of years. Our warming rivers cannot support them.

Washington Fish and Wildlife officials have received repeated reports of dead sturgeon this week on the Columbia River, but the exact cause of death remains a mystery. Annette Cary reports. (Tri-City Herald)

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/dozens-of-sturgeon-found-dead-in-columbia-river/

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Drought-like conditions and heatwave prompt statewide river fishing closures  – Seattle Times

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Al Bergstein

The consequences of our inability to stop or slow our human created global warming is being felt in a variety of ways this summer in the Pacific NW. First up, the closing of wide array of fishing due to over warmed rivers. This is a minor aggravation compared to some of the others we face.

It was bound to happen, and now state Fish and Wildlife has decided to close or restrict fishing in more than 30 statewide rivers to protect fish from the warm water temperatures and drought-like conditions. All of the closures will begin Saturday (July 18) and will remain in effect until further notice…. The current changes don’t include rivers in the southern Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula region although a section of the Sol Duc River is already closed. Mark Yuasa reports. (Seattle Times)

See also: Drought Prompts Oregon To Restrict Fishinghttp://www.opb.org/news/article/drought-prompts-oregon-to-restrict-fishing/ Courtney Flatt reports (EarthFix)

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/drought-like-conditions-and-heatwave-prompt-statewide-river-fishing-closures/

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Scientists In Oregon Discover Bacon-Flavored Seaweed- AP

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Now this I like! Bacon Flavored Seaweed!

What grows quickly, is packed with protein, has twice the nutritional value of kale and … tastes like bacon? The answer, according to scientists at Oregon State University, is a new strain of seaweed they recently patented. (Associated Press)

http://www.opb.org/news/article/scientists-in-oregon-discover-bacon-flavored-seaweed/

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Indian Treaties are the new front in the battle against coal exports – The Ecologist

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Al Bergstein

What it means to “Honor the Treaties”.

The 1865 Treaty of Point Elliot is clear… the Lummi Nation has the right to fish, hunt and gather in their accustomed places in perpetuity – and they can’t do that if a gigantic coal terminal is built in the Salish Sea’s most productive waters. First Nations’ treaty rights are now central to protecting the Pacific Northwest from destruction by fossil fuels. Jan Hasselman writes. (The Ecologist)

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2950221/indian_treaties_are_the_new_front_in_the_battle_against_coal_exports.html

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Level 4 drought declared for South Coast and Lower Fraser – CBC

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Al Bergstein

The drought from the perspective of BC government has reached a serious milestone.

Conditions are so dry in B.C’s Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Fraser Valley that the provincial government has raised the drought rating to the highest category — Level 4 — and are warning that if things get worse, water shortages could affect people, industry and agriculture. (CBC)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/level-4-drought-declared-for-south-coast-and-lower-fraser-1.3153654

See also: See also: Record warm temperatures to have years-long effect on B.C. salmon stocks: scientisthttp://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro/Recordwarmtemperatureshaveyearslongeffectsalmonstocks/11213948/story.html
(Canadian Pres)

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Navy easement on hold until lawsuit settled – Kitsap Sun

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Disappointing but not unexpected news. Working piecemeal on this apparently.

The Navy has suspended its application for a restrictive easement along Hood Canal’s Kitsap County shoreline until a lawsuit over a similar easement on the Jefferson County side is settled. Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor applied with the state Department of Natural Resources in August 2013 for an easement from the Hood Canal bridge south to the county line near Holly that would prohibit new commercial wharves, piers, docks and floats. It would comprise a strip of state-owned bedlands from 18 feet below the average low tide to 70 feet down. Ed Friedrich reports. (Kitsap Sun)

Worth noting that the Kitsap Sun requires a subscription to view.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/local-news/navy-easement-on-hold-until-lawsuit-settled_95679823

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Protecting our Coastal “Salad Bowl” – Eye On the Environment

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Al Bergstein

Our northern neighbors and us are threatened by a massive oil transport project in British Columbia. Here’s a short piece on a couple who are opposed and why.

Laurie MacBride in Eye on Environment writes: “While our planet’s oceans are clearly facing serious health challenges these days, we’re fortunate that many marine and coastal habitats are still alive and relatively healthy. In our little corner of the world, the Salish Sea teems with life in many places, including some of the shores of Haro Strait at the southeastern end of Vancouver Island….”

Protecting our Coastal “Salad Bowl”

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