 Cherry Point Reach, Washington State In Cherry Point, Washington, north of Bellingham, conservationists have worked for more than a decade to restore the annual herring runs that occur off the coast. Over the past 40 years, stocks have declined on this 10-mile stretch of coastline from about 17,000 tons of herring spawning off the coast to less than 1,000 tons.
Biologists who have studied the problem blame three refineries, which combined see about 600 to 700 ship visits per year. Now one of the world’s largest shipping companies, SSA Marine, wants to build a new terminal here with the potential to ship up to 50 million tons of North American coal annually to China. The so-called Gateway Pacific Terminal would double ship traffic with much larger vessels and increase rail traffic in the region. Continue reading Big Coal Targets Northwest to Get to Asian Markets – Environmentalists Fight Back
Experts warn the Arctic is ill equipped to deal with a potential cruise ship disaster
 The M/S Explorer cruise ship sinks hours after hitting an iceberg off the coast of the Antarctic Thanks to global warming, more ships than ever before will likely venture beyond the Arctic Circle this year. The melting polar ice caps have opened up new routes in recent years for natural gas exploration and tourism.
But the increased traffic, while it might be good for business, could have dire consequences in a region that is ill-prepared for a possible disaster, say experts interviewed for this story.
Lawson Brigham, a professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and lead author of the 2009 Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment, warns that rescue and salvage capabilities along with adequate navigational charts in much of the Arctic are limited. Combined with deadly cold water, an accident could be disastrous, he says. Continue reading Cruising the Arctic
 A sea lion on buoy number 14 in San Diego Bay San Diego Water Board Still Weighing Options Over Desal
After more than a decade spent talking about building a large-scale ocean desalination plant in Carlsbad, California, the private equity firm proposing to finance the project has one last hurdle to overcome: It needs someone to agree to buy the water.
Poseidon Resources has put forth several iterations over the years of its proposed plant in San Diego County, expected to produce up to 50 million gallons of freshwater daily. In one attempt, Poseidon inked agreements with local water agencies claiming it could sell water at no greater cost than imported water supplies.
But investors and members of the San Diego County Water Authority, both of whom Poseidon needs for support, balked at the claim and those agreements were scrapped. Continue reading Poseidon Resources’s Private, For-Profit California Desalination Projects Face Challenges on Two Fronts
Photo: Poseidon Resources
Opposition calls their claims grossly inaccurate
Supporters of ocean desalination in California commonly lament the numerous permits required in this state to build a plant capable of converting seawater into drinkable tap water.
In late April, backers of a bill to create a state task force with the goal of streamlining the process claimed desalination plants require up to 30 permits in California to gain approval.
“With 30 permitting steps, these are overlapping and confusing requirements,” Rep. Isadore Hall (D-Los Angeles), chief sponsor of Assembly Bill 2595, told state representatives in the Committee on Natural Resources in Sacramento. Continue reading Ocean Desal Backers Exaggerate Permit Burden
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