It's time for a new investigative report on how we're screwing up Puget Sound and avoiding the painful political decisions needed for a solution on a Big Issue. First up, stormwater. And a really in-depth article on a Low Impact Development project, somewhere near Renton.
Next on the docket are wetlands, er, rather what's left of them. Twenty years ago, no net loss became the law of the state and since then, we've been losing wetlands like Hillary Clinton losing delegates. So much so, that one senior state official is confused about where he lives.
"We are kidding ourselves; the emperor has no clothes," said Thomas
Hruby, a senior ecologist at the Ecology Department. "Everybody says
it, and it's been going on for at least 20 years. We are deluding
ourselves, hoping there is a silver bullet out there that will allow us
to have our growth and not have the impacts. It's a state of denial."
Meanwhile, down in the Big SIlly...uh, I mean the BIg CIty, of course, city officials are exploring options for "product stewardship," that is, making the producers and manufacturers responsible for waste disposal and recycling costs. Already a priniciple in the European Union, this has yet to catch on in the states. Why can't I help but think of my ipod and a bright, shiny Apple when I read stories like this?
Speaking of Big Issues...
I want to go on the record as being against ascot wearing in all its forms and variations.
I know this is a brave stand and I'll catch a lot of heat for not "fitting in." But that's just the way I roll.