There's a rallying cry at various bays and beaches up and down the West Coast; it's "Help the kelp!" The towering brown seaweed with the floating bulb on top is in steep decline. That's alarming because underwater kelp forests provide shelter and food for a wide variety of sea life. The crew now answering the call runs the gamut from seaweed farmers to hammer-wielding Read More
Fish swimming out to sea over the past year have lucked into some of the best water temperatures and food abundance along the West Coast in the last 24 years, according to an analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began monitoring ocean conditions.Read More
BY KAREN ZAMORA, JUSTINE KENIN & EMMA BOWMAN Most of us learned about the world’s oceans in elementary school. There’s the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian and the Arctic. Now, […]Read More
In this Past as Prologue essay, WSU Professor Karen Phoenix explains the history of the shipping container and its Spokane ties. Read More
Salmon survive best when the water is cooler along the coast and warmer farther out. Colder La Niña conditions have also led to higher salmon counts. Right now, that’s exactly what’s happening. But things will likely change over the summer.Read More
Humpback whales are resurfacing in big numbers in the Salish Sea, the Columbia River mouth and the Northwest coast. Along with excitement over the humpbacks' return comes concern about ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.Read More
The 2011 earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Fukushima, Japan, also triggered tsunami warnings for our coastlines here in the Pacific Northwest. And while the resulting waves did not turn out to be catastrophic when they reached our local shores, those same forces delivered a wake-up call.Read More
As consumers rebel against plastic waste, there's a growing question: Do we invent something people can toss without harming the environment or do we change people by giving them a chance to reuse?Read More
The cod population in the Gulf of Alaska is at its lowest level on record. Scientists say the culprit is a warm-water mass known as "the blob."Read More
Shark Week, a Discovery Channel staple, is 30 years old this year. You can safely keep ignoring it, though. Read More