6/22/09
By Kathy Fletcher

President Obama is quite a guy. Even with a lot of other very important things on his mind, he understands that dealing with the planet’s life support systems can’t wait. He’s tackling climate change, and now he has asked his staff and agencies to come back to him in 90 days with recommendations for an ocean policy. Hooray!

Where to start? Well, Puget Sound is our corner of the ocean, and we know what it needs:

• Get the toxic pollution out, and stop putting in more of the poisons that kill and sicken the whales, the birds, the fish and us.

• Protect the shorelines, river mouths and wetlands from further destruction, and heal the damaged places.

• Protect the forests and fields that naturally soak up the runoff and filter the water.

• “Green” our cities, towns and transportation systems so that we’re working with instead of against Mother Nature.

In short, treat the Sound and ocean with respect—just because we can’t see under the water doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on down there. We’re not talking about an academic subject here—the orca whales and the salmon runs are going extinct before our very eyes. Years of commissions have done a good job of identifying both the problems and the solutions. Maybe Obama’s the guy who can finally turn all this talk into action and results.  I sure hope so.

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