Environment

Coming up on The Conversation, December 7 at noon.

December 14 kicks of the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count and volunteers that have dubbed themselves as the Binocular Brigade are hoping to see some rare species. Here in Seattle there have been reports of snowy owl sightings. What is this large white owl doing here in Washington? Ross Reynolds talks with Seattle Audubon Conservation Director Matt Mega.

A KUOW investigation has led a top congressman to demand answers about Shell Oil's underwater accident this fall in Puget Sound.

As we reported on Friday, an underwater test near Anacortes left Shell's first-of-its-kind oil-spill equipment “crushed like a beer can.”

Landslide season has begun. That's when we hear stories about houses sliding down Seattle's famously steep slopes. But according to geologist "Hig" Higman, landslide season is about to get even hairier.

As regulators in the region weigh the potential impacts of trains full of coal moving along the Columbia River and the shores of Puget Sound, trainloads of oil are quietly on the move. There are billions of barrels of oil in the Bakken shale formation – located in North Dakota and Montana mainly. And some of that oil is now making its way to refineries in Puget Sound.

If you've driven through Eastern Washington lately, you've probably noticed the wind turbines. For some, they're a blight; for others, they look like the future. To Philip Warburg, that future looks bright. He writes about it in his book, "Harvest the Wind: America's Journey to Jobs, Energy Independence and Climate Stability." He'll try to blow away Ross Reynolds with his story of wind's power.

Rescuing shellfish from the rising acidity in Puget Sound will require a wide-ranging response: everything from curbing greenhouse gases and controlling water pollution to growing more seaweed and putting restaurant-discarded oyster shells into shallow bays. Those are among the recommendations in a long-awaited report on ocean acidification that was delivered today to Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire by a blue-ribbon panel.

Sound recordist Martyn Stewart says he started working for Mother Nature at an early age, “fighting for the planet and her critters.” Stewart has captured the sounds and plights of animals around the world for more than 150 films, documenting everything from fox hunts in the UK to dolphin slaughters in Japan. His latest film is “Dawn to Death: The Dolphins of Taiji.”

Also this hour: we sift the details of the Hostess bankruptcy with Fortune magazine's David Kaplan and talk with veteran broadcaster Bryan Johnson, who retired from Seattle’s KOMO 4 earlier this month after 53 years with the station.