 |
||
|
Puget Sound Georgia Basin Ecosystem |  |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
What Indicators Do and Don't Do
Use the indicators to understand the connections between living things. As you read, you will begin to unravel the thread that cuts across all the indicators: the manner in which we manage (cut, largely preserve or pave over) vegetated land, including forests, in combination with the products and industrial processes we use, are contributing to the contamination of the entire food web. It's not just someone else's food web, but our food supply as well. Remember this nursery rhyme? Your ankle bone connected to your leg bone, This is a metaphor for understanding that everything we do, no matter how remote it seems, affects something else. Consider the Orca Killer Whale. Its northern resident pod declined by seven percent between 1997 and 2003 and the Southern Resident Pod (J, K and L pods) declined 17 percent between 1995 and 2001. Most of the resident northern and resident pods eat salmon as their primary food source. Resident Puget Sound Chinook salmon are heavily contaminated with flame retardants and plasticizers called phthalates. Other salmon are dwindling in number because their cold stream habitat has been degraded due to development practices (too much impervious surfaces and splitting land masses into fragments) and the use of certain chemicals and fertilizers that are still legal to purchase. This means that the fertilizer you use on your lawn and the neighborhood you live in, or the manufacturing process used by a local business, has an influence on these giant beauties that capture our hearts and imagination. Use the Resource LinksEach indicator has several sections that address the actions currently underway to help solve the problems we report on and practical tips, including Web sites and telephone numbers, so you have options with respect to daily activities like inventory purchasing, driving, energy use, gardening, cleaning your home and influencing public policy. Make Local Decisions about Fishing, Swimming and ShellfishingThese indicators are not intended to guide decisions regarding where to fish, swim or shellfish. Please cross reference local phone numbers about water quality, beach closures, shellfish closures and other local restrictions. Many of these numbers are included in each indicator in the What Can I Do? sections. Read Other Indicator ReportsThe following links may provide helpful information and, with the exception
of the US EPA, are located outside the EPA.gov domain. Georgia Basin-Puget Sound Ecosystem Indicators Report 2002 Washington State Department of Ecology: Washington's Environmental Health 2004 BC Ministry of Environment: British Columbia's Coastal Environment 2006 BC Ministry of Environment: Environmental Trends in British Columbia 2002 Fraser Basin Council: Sustainability Indicators Sightline
Institute: The Cascadia Scorecard Sustainable Seattle: Indicators of Sustainable Community The Heinz Center: The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems Spread the Word and Tell Us What You WantPlease share the indicators with friends, colleagues, and social networks. Tell us what kind of environmental and community information has meaning to you in your daily lives and why. Return to Ecosystem Indicators Home Page
Previous
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
