Around the Sound: Landmark deal for Dabob Bay

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Toxics Cleanup ProgramThe U.S. Navy and The Nature Conservancy announced a landmark deal last week to protect Dabob Bay in Jefferson County.Dabob Bay is one of the most pristine, least developed and ecologically important estuaries in Hood Canal and Puget Sound. The Dabob Bay range is also the Navy’s premier location in the United States for research,

Our Changing Climate: Melting ice means more Arctic ship traffic?

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality ProgramThe Seattle Times has this interesting story about how less ice in the Arctic is expected to mean more ship traffic in the region.Melting, thinning ice would open up more navigable waters for increased shipping of goods, more scientific exploration and more tourism activity.The catch is the United States is in danger of lagging behind in

Cleaning Up: Lower Duwamish work forges ahead

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Toxics Cleanup Program Combined efforts to clean up the Lower Duwamish Waterway in south Seattle took a major step forward this week.Work is under way on cleaning up the site known as Slip 4, one of the major pollution “hot spots” in the Lower Duwamish, which is a federal Superfund site.“The cleanup of Slip 4, about three miles upstream from Harbor Island,

New Tool Helps Ecology Help Fish

By Tim Hill, Office of Columbia River

Ecology’s Office of Columbia River (OCR) has a new tool to help us find the streamflow improvement projects that provide the most benefits to fish. Created with the help of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the “Columbia River Instream Atlas ” identifies where fish may be struggling and why and where we might have the most success with our

Good News for the Environment

By Barb MacGregor, Web Communications ManagerBefore I worked at Ecology, I thought of the agency as a bunch of people who make and enforce regulations. True, the regulations help protect the environment and enforcers make sure the rules are followed. But I just never imagined it was the kind of place where my background in environmental education and stewardship would fit.Well, I’ve been here

Our Changing Climate: Walking our talk (part 2)

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality ProgramI’ve written previously about Ecology’s Carbon Smart initiative. The effort aims to reduce our own climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions and also help other state agencies, businesses and individuals.Here are two more ways that we are working to “walk the talk”:See this recent blog post on electric vehicle charging stations now in

Air Time: Fight urge to burn falling leaves

By Seth Preston, Communications Manager, Air Quality ProgramAutumn sends some people searching for their rakes, so they can gather falling leaves and other yard waste into a pile for burning.But don’t strike that match just yet.Lighting up the leaves is illegal in most Washington cities and all urban growth areas because such burning produces smoke that can harm your health when you breathe it.