The end of this year’s legislative session has been overshadowed by the coronavirus outbreak. The session started with high hopes for new state policies to reduce climate warming greenhouse gas pollution, stoked by youth climate strikes as well as cities and the Puyallup Tribe declaring climate emergencies.

Environment

Climate activists disappointed by session outcome: new goals set, but action lags behind

Washington is poised to become the ninth state in the nation to ban the use of thin plastic bags in retail sales. After passing both chambers of the Legislature with strong bipartisan support, it was signed by the president of the state Senate on Wednesday.

Paper or plastic? Washington lawmakers pass statewide ban on single-use plastic bags

While lots of people are feeling frightened or inconvenienced by the novel coronavirus, at least one group is also financially devastated: geoduck divers. They normally sell the huge, iconic bivalves as a luxury export item, primarily for customers in China. Not right now.

Geoduck divers face double whammy: Tariffs and ‘devastating’ coronavirus

The Chehalis River has flooded 18 times in the past 20 years, sometimes submerging Interstate 5 near Olympia. The local Flood Control Zone District is proposing a new dam to prevent extreme high water. A draft environmental impact statement is now out for public comment.

Proposed new dam on Chehalis to address chronic flooding raises many questions

UPDATE, Feb. 27, 2020: The Whale Sanctuary Project that was considering sites in Western Washington and British Columbia has announced it will not be setting up here anytime soon. It has chosen to start its work in Port Hilford, on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. That location will be primarily dedicated to rehabilitating beluga whales that are retiring form marine parks and aquariums.

Whale sanctuary, originally considered for the Pacific Northwest, to open in Nova Scotia

At a public boat launch on Black Lake, south of Olympia, Sgt. Pam Taylor holds dozens of small, dark black shells in the palm of her hand. At her side is an inquisitive white hound, barking enthusiastically. “These are what I put in the little socks to train Puddles,” says Taylor, an inspector with the Aquatic Invasive Species program at the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. It's Invasive Species Awareness Week in Washington. Public officials, like Taylor, are warning that non-native

Puddles the mussel-sniffing dog helps raise awareness about risks of invasive species

A little less than a month remains for public comment on a proposal to allow the Makah Indian Tribe to resume its hunt for gray whales.

As Makah press for new waiver to resume the whale hunt, public is invited to comment

The proposal for a statewide ban on thin plastic bags in retail establishments is quickly moving forward. A vote is scheduled for Tuesday in the state Environment and Energy Committee, where lawmakers heard public comments from a packed chamber this week.

Proposal for statewide plastics ban moves ahead, despite industry opposition

Members of Washington's Environmental Priorities Coalition say they're making good progress on the legislative agenda they set for this session . The agenda comes out of annual cooperative agreements between more than 20 organizations statewide.

Legislative update: What's moving forward — and what's not — on the environment beat

It started over a few glasses of wine, with friends passing around a smartphone and sharing views of a sketch by late-night comedian Bill Maher. The idea presented there, for a holiday on par with those honoring moms and dads, often provokes laughter. “I Didn’t Reproduce Day” would celebrate single people, aunts and uncles who help out — and not just by being allies to parents or mentors to young people. Maher makes the case that people who remain childless are saving resources and preventing

'Incredibly insensitive': How a proposal to honor the childless tanked on Bainbridge Island

Four large environmental groups are suing the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. At issue is the agency's approval of Cooke Aquaculture's plans to switch to native steelhead farming in net pens in Puget Sound. The permit would apply to four existing net pens with valid leases and possibly three more later.

Lawsuit from environmental groups says state's approval of net pens relies on outdated science

Pacing behind his cow barn, David Haakenson looks out over the farm where his family has lived since 1989. Today, it’s surrounded by water from the Snoqualmie River. “It’s all frothy and logs are going down, and we’ve got water all around,” he said. “I’ve got all my tractors and trucks and vehicles, and all the animals, up here on this raised-dirt mound, and my house is a stone’s throw away, and I’ve got my row boat in the driveway.” Haakenson was 4 years old in 1989, when his family moved to

Flooding is becoming the new normal for Snoqualmie Valley farmers

As seaweeds grow in the ocean, they naturally pull carbon dioxide from the water for photosynthesis, much as trees pull CO2 from the air. Many people in western Washington see an opportunity in that.

Washington researchers tackle ocean acidification with new seaweed crops

Leaders from five Coast Salish tribes joined a delegation from the United Tribes of Bristol Bay in Seattle this week to formally unveil a Bristol Bay Proclamation. It demands that the U.S. government protect the tribes' way of life, as “people of the salmon,” by halting the permitting process for the so-called Pebble Mine in Southeast Alaska. And it’s a pledge of unity in a fight that has been an uphill battle.

Tribes stand united in fight to protect Bristol Bay from Pebble Mine

In a close ruling, the state Supreme Court has partially invalidated the Clean Air Rule drafted by the Department of Ecology. The court says it cannot be used to regulate companies that sell or distribute petroleum or natural gas, because they don't make their own greenhouse gas emissions. Supporters of climate action remain optimistic.

Gov. Inslee remains upbeat, despite state Supreme Court ruling against Clean Air Rule

Stories about the environment focused on the Pacific Northwest, with many from KNKX's Environment reporter, Bellamy Pailthorp.

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