The Ordinary Puget Sound Citizen’s
    Point of View
    As we work, go to school, play, travel, and enjoy our
    homes, we affect Puget Sound and its marine life.
    Think about the following questions as you read this
    selection, then discuss the questions from the point
    of view of a Puget Sound citizen:
    How does each person who lives here affect
    Puget Sound?
    What can you and other people in your family do
    to help find solutions to Puget Sound problems?
    What would you have to give up or trade off to
    make the solutions something you could live with?
    What benefits would a healthier, cleaner
    Puget Sound give you and your family?
    A Puget Sound Citizen’s Viewpoint
    It is our Puget Sound. Almost three million of us
    live and work here because we love the weather,
    the mountains, the rivers, lakes, streams, and Puget
    Sound. The Sound provides us with recreation and
    supports many businesses. We travel on it and eat
    food from it. We share the Sound with many animals
    and plants as well.
    Point of View:
    Ordinary Citizen
    Lesson 15
    Examining a Real Environmental Problem
    Resource: Ecosystems Teachers Guide Pgs.160–172
    Ordinary Puget Sound Citizens Can
    Harm Puget Sound
    As we live our lives, we produce many kinds of pollutants.
    Many of them end up in Puget Sound. These are a few of
    the problems we create for the Sound:
    We throw away enough things every year to cover the
    freeway from Seattle to Spokane with garbage piled
    six feet deep.
    Our cars, trucks, buses, lawnmowers, and boats use oil
    and other toxic chemicals that end up in Puget Sound.
    We use and throw away household cleaners, fertilizers,
    pesticides, solvents and paints that contaminate
    Puget Sound.
    We heavily use water for drinking, cleaning, watering
    plants, and much more.
    The fossil fuel energy we use to heat houses and run
    cars contributes to air pollution.
    How Can Ordinary Citizens Help
    Puget Sound?
    Many of Puget Sound’s problems seem overwhelm-
    ing to one person. We can help protect the Sound
    by working together. There are many simple things
    we can do each day that are helpful. Here are a few
    of them:
    • Recycle paper, metal, glass, and plastic. Reuse
    materials and avoid buying things that must be
    thrown out.
    •
    Buy things that are packaged in recyclable materials,
    which is called pre-cycling.
    •
    Properly dispose of hazardous materials. Never pour
    automotive oil down storm drains or paint, oil, or
    antifreeze down the sink or toilet.
    • Pull weeds by hand. Avoid using toxic chemicals
    to kill weeds and insects. Compost leaves and
    food scraps to use as fertilizer so you do not
    need to use chemical fertilizers in the garden.
    • Conserve energy. Take the bus, use car pools,
    walk, or ride a bike. Turn off lights, computers,
    and television sets when you are not using them.
    Turn down the heat and put on a sweater to save
    energy and money.
    • Save water by taking shorter showers and turning
    off the water while you brush your teeth. Make
    sure faucets do not leak, and run full loads in the
    clothes washer and dishwasher.
    • Learn more about Puget Sound. Tell your
    friends, neighbors, and family about protecting
    Puget Sound.
    • Take action. Get involved with a group that is
    working to protect and preserve Puget Sound.
    Changes and Tradeoffs
    Changing the way we are used to doing things is not
    always easy, even when we know it is better for our
    environment. As you read and think about how ordinary
    citizens help and harm Puget Sound, consider the
    problems and solutions.
    How will these solutions help Puget Sound?
    What are the tradeoffs an ordinary person will need
    to make to put these solutions to work?

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