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Warming seas could wipe out Snake River chinook by 2060, scientists predict
SEATTLE — Snake River spring-summer chinook could be nearly extinct by 2060 and interventions are “desperately needed” to boost survival in every stage of their lives, scientists warn. The findings, published Thursday in the journal Communications Biology, modeled survival of eight populations of wild Snake River Basin spring-summer chinook during the ocean phase of their life, under various climate-warming scenarios. Salmon hatch in rivers, but mature for years at sea before they return to the waters of their birth. It is a perilous life cycle that could become all but impossible for some alr...
The Seattle Times
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Female resident orcas especially disturbed by vessels, new research shows
SEATTLE — Female orcas are most thrown off from foraging when boats and vessels intrude closer than 400 yards, according to new research — troubling findings for the endangered population of southern resident orcas that desperately needs every mother and calf to survive. The research, gathered by attaching suction-cup electronic tags to the whales, is a clear wake-up call to the protection endangered mother orcas need, researchers and experts say. "Anything that takes food away from a mom trying to support a calf, that is something we should carefully consider," said Marla Holt, lead author on...
The Seattle Times
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How Marshawn Lynch's 'Beast Quake,' which just turned 10, helped prepare scientists for actual earthquakes
SEATTLE — "The crowd is silent now, as opposed to when the Saints have the ball," NBC broadcaster Tom Hammond said, before more than 66,000 fans refuted that fact. It was Jan. 8, 2011, and the 7-9 Seahawks led the 11-5 Saints, 34-30, with 3:40 left in the NFC wild-card game. At a supposedly silent Qwest Field in Seattle, Matt Hasselbeck took a snap at his own 33-yard line, turned and handed the ball to Marshawn Lynch. Amid a morass of broken tackles, the "Beast Quake" was born. Lynch — a 215-pound, 24-year-old torpedo — laid waste to New Orleans' defensive line, burrowing through Scott Shanle ...
The Seattle Times
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News briefs
More than a dozen earthquakes reported in Puerto RicoA series of earthquakes in Puerto Rico on Thursday ranged from magnitude 2.1 to a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale. The Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Red Sísmica, has recorded earth movements in the south since early Thursday morning. None caused a tsunami alert, but island residents have shown concern about the earthquakes that began in December 2019 and have not stopped since then, although they did decrease in intensity. The first tremor occurred at 1:02 a.m. local time with a magnitude of 3.3 in the Guánica area. The epic...
Tribune News Service
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More than a dozen earthquakes reported in Puerto Rico on Christmas Eve, including one measuring 4.8
A series of earthquakes in Puerto Rico on Thursday ranged from magnitude 2.1 to a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale. The Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Red Sísmica, has recorded earth movements in the south since early Thursday morning. None caused a tsunami alert, but island residents have shown concern about the earthquakes that began in December 2019 and have not stopped since then, although they did decrease in intensity. The first tremor occurred at 1:02 a.m. local time with a magnitude of 3.3 in the Guánica area. The epicenter of this natural phenomenon was about 6 miles so...
Orlando Sentinel
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Great Lakes advocates hope new administration will take on climate change
CHICAGO — With the Earth on track to finish out another year among the warmest on record and the impact of climate change mounting around the globe, advocates around the Great Lakes are looking ahead to what a new administration could mean for the Midwest, the region containing one of the world’s largest freshwater sources. Much is at stake when it comes to the Great Lakes region. Warming temperatures and more precipitation can mean more flooding. Shoreline protections are up against rising lake levels and million-dollar damage storms. Invasive species threaten to upend ecosystems and toxic al...
Chicago Tribune
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Doctors group asks Minn. governor to halt Enbridge pipeline construction because of COVID-19 concerns
MINNEAPOLIS — Doctors and northern Minnesota residents pleaded with the governor to halt construction of Enbridge’s controversial $2.6 billion oil pipeline, saying the project will draw thousands of out-of-state workers who could accelerate the spread of COVID-19.Health Professionals for a Health Climate, organized by the climate justice group MN350, held a socially distanced press event and rally Wednesday morning in front of the governor’s residence in St. Paul.Enbridge received a final permit from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Monday, and on Tuesday started building the replacem...
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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2020's 'insane' hurricane season is officially over. Is it a sign of things to come?
MIAMI — It was clear way back in mid-September, when the National Hurricane Center had already exhausted its regular list of names and turned to the Greek alphabet, that 2020 would be a hurricane season for the record books.It definitely was that. The season, which formally ends every Nov. 30, produced a stunning 30 named storms — breaking the 2005 record of 28. It was only the second time forecasters resorted to the backup list of names and, as if to punctuate how wild a season it was, that first Greek-letter system, Tropical Storm Alpha, wound up hitting Portugal — the first recorded strike ...
Miami Herald