Category Archives: Stop pollution
SPU confirms BNSF railroad tracks source of muddy discharge into Puget Sound
It is raining so hard the sound of it on the deck above my bunk wakes me up. I feel the weight of the rain pressing my boat deeper into Puget Sound. It is Monday, October 24th, 4:18 AM. I … Continue reading
Is this what you want Puget Sound to look like?
Updated 10/27/11. Puget Sound is a cesspool. Or, at least it is this week, in the marina where I live. I am used to seeing human waste swirling around the hulls of boats and the sight and smell of rainbow … Continue reading
Quick response stops BNSF Railroad Bridge discharge into Puget Sound
The sound of splashing water and the plop of falling debris caught my attention as I walked past the BNSF Railroad Bridge on Thursday, October 13, 2011. I was walking to my favorite coffee shop near the Hiram M. Chittenden … Continue reading
What’s so wrong about washing your fire truck?
Fire Engine E-22 sits in the driveway, red, shiny and clean. A trail of white soap bubbles leads to the curb, which leads to two storm drains, which lead to Lake Union or Portage Bay. I don’t know. The drainage … Continue reading
How much rocket fuel do you want in your drinking water?
Two weeks ago the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided it was time to regulate the amount of rocket fuel in our nation’s drinking water. That’s right: rocket fuel. In my mind, the only thing I want my drinking water, is … Continue reading
Drinking freely from our country’s rivers
It may have been the best drink of my life. In 1970, I backpacked through Yosemite National Park. It was my first trip. My shoulders ached from the weight of my new, bright-red pack. White granite tore chucks from the … Continue reading
Muddy dredging fouls marina
It is 7 am the second day of my summer vacation. I wake up to the sound of a diesel engine pounding rhythmically through the hull of my sailboat. I climb out of my bunk, pop open the hatch and … Continue reading
Failure to enforce: Seattle Public Utilities
Frankly, I’m tired of the customer service approach to enforcing environmental regulations. We have great environmental laws in Washington state, but the intent of these laws is constantly eroded by the very public agencies we hire as citizens to enforce … Continue reading
Standing on the shore of a storm drain
I point my cell phone like a gun. Snap a photo of the cream-colored paint racing down the street towards the metal grate of the storm drain. The man I confront is twice my size. He stands by a squat … Continue reading
