So, I am checking out the local news on 8/15 when a picture of the Pilchuck River with pink or rust coloured goo is on the screen. The reporter tells us that they are now attempting to “SaveTheSalmon” which might be dying along with other “aquatic life” after coming into contact with it. netfishing Apparently, this river is heating up because of a lack of oxygen that trees, scrubs and bushes create but they have been cut back far too much creating an environment to grow this harmful goo. We also learn that this river,maybe others do not meet clean-water standards at this time and flows from the Cascade Mountains east of Granite Falls to Snohomish before joining the Snohomish River.

Last week reports were that a Gray found in Ballard Locks and a young Hump Back Whale found beached in West Seattle in bad condition … very thin, had lice, netting and while scientists were there no results as to why these Whales were so thin had lice though the weaker Whales may suffer from a lack of food…. let me say that again, whales are suffering from not finding enough food which invokes all kinds of connotations attached

I am no expert, have a lot of opinions thoughts and feelings about Whales in general living here and having spent a great deal of my youth around water. I feel that our Navy should get a cease and desist letter ordering all the sonar tests stop until they find out if this is indeed affecting our Whales or at least tell the public what the sonars are being used for or against. I also want to know what part do humans play in the deaths of Whales when they are unable to find enough food, why there are less Orca’s, why has the state sided with whale watchers when it’s obvious our water ways are not garbage or fuel free and could possibly be why some grey whales continue to be found washed up on our beaches. There should not be whales in captivity … unless it could no longer survive in its natural habitat

Sources: Q13, King5 … my2cents

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Stop Spraying Pesticides in State Marine Waters

12/28/2016 Nativegrl77

CHP Washington State Banner

Don’t let large corporate shellfish growers poison our marine waters with the pesticides Imazamox and Imidicloprid!

As Washingtonians, we all enjoy having salmon, waterfowl, diverse marine life and bees as part of our world.

Large corporate shellfish growers’ efforts to spray pesticides in our marine waters to increase unsustainable shellfish production threatens a myriad of aquatic life.

Both, protected native and non-native eelgrass will be eradicated, migratory waterfowl food sources will be eliminated, salmon smolts will lose important cover and bees will be exposed to a destructive neurotoxin that has been blamed for colony collapse disorder all over the world.

Send a message to the Washington Department of Ecology today: “Do not approve the spraying of Imazamox, Imidicloprid or any toxic chemicals in Washington marine waters.” We need to protect our marine life and human health. The proposed spraying will add to the chemical burden of years of spraying the pesticides Glyphosate, Imazapyr and Carbaryl on Willapa Bay shellfish areas. The WA State Attorney General already referred to Willapa Bay as “chemical soup” in a 2012 motion for summary judgment.

Your comments will lend a voice to prevent destruction of wildlife that cannot speak for itself. The Dept. of Ecology will take note if thousands of citizens tell them we noticed and care about their actions.

Thank you for all that you do for Washington’s environment and human health.

Dorothy Walker, Sierra Club
Washington State Marine Ecosystem Campaign

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The pallid sturgeon has plied Earth’s waterways for 78 mil years …they need our help!

12/28/2016 Nativegrl77

Your voice can make a difference for one of the planet’s last living dinosaurs.

It survived the asteroid that killed all the dinosaurs, but if we don’t act quickly, it won’t survive us.

The pallid sturgeon has plied Earth’s waterways for 78 million years. But a century of dam building has led to habitat changes that may mean the end for this amazing fish. Biologists estimate that only 125 wild-born pallid sturgeon remain in the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. What’s worse, none have successfully reproduced in decades because too many dams now block their path and destroy their habitat.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation have the chance to change that, but they have recently released a plan that, far from helping these fish, will likely doom them.

The clear way to save the pallid sturgeon and spend taxpayer dollars wisely is to restore the Yellowstone River by removing the irrigation dam that blocks the path of these fish and to deliver water to irrigators via pumps or other means.

But current government agency plans promote a different solution that Montana fish biologists – and even the government’s own scientists – say won’t work: an even larger concrete dam and two-mile long artificial fish bypass channel. This flawed alternative may have profound effects on the entire fishery of the lower Yellowstone River, not just the pallid sturgeon.

Your voice can make a difference. Tell the agencies involved that you oppose the construction of a new, more permanent dam and that you believe that federal funding for the project should be spent on restoring the Yellowstone River, not on building a bigger dam.

These fish cannot wait. They need our help now.

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Steve Forrest
Rockies and Plains Senior Representative
Defenders of Wildlife

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The climate denier playbook – by Union of Concerned Scientists

12/28/2016 Nativegrl77

UCSLOGO here’s their plan:

First, harass climate scientists and politicize their research. Next, denounce lawmakers who call for climate action. Then slash funding for climate science—because it’s too “politicized.”

Those are the words of Trump senior adviser Bob Walker, head of the NASA transition team. He wants to eliminate NASA’s funding for earth science and research.¹ Yep, you read that right.

Even forgetting climate change, NASA’s earth science research is crucial to billions of dollars of economic activity, improving weather forecasts, helping farmers measure soil moisture, helping predict the spread of disease, and more.² Gutting it would have permanent implications.

This disregard for science is visible throughout Trump’s transition team. That’s why we need to be more ready than ever to fight back—to protect science, to advocate for scientists, to defend the victories we’ve won together.

We’ve set a goal of raising $2.065 million by December 31st, and we’re still $365,000 away. Please, renew your support with a year-end donation.

Thank you,

John Mace, Membership Director

1. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/22/nasa-earth -donald-trump-eliminate-climate-change-research
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/opinion/earth-the-final-frontier.html