On Tuesday, January 23, John Lombard spoke about his book, Saving Puget Sound at Seattle Town Hall. Lombard, a Seattle native, is a senior policy analyst at Steward and Associates, an environmental consulting firm in Snohomish, WA.

Lombard's ideas stemmed from his frustration with our local politics, which focus too narrowly on local conservation projects within the most populated areas of the Puget Sound region. He emphasized an urgent need to conserve the entire Puget Sound area ecosystem— not just those under an urban umbrella.

Additionally, he raised some standard, yet controversial questions— why conserve? a query that often acts as a double edged sword. For example, if we conserve, we remain a competitive tourist destination within the Northwest— an economic strategy. On the other hand, we will also attract more people to this area, which makes conservation more challenging.

Another controversial question posed— how do we pay for conservation? Lombard suggested a few stimulating and obtainable solutions, which he calls, "environmental sin taxes," similar to alcohol and cigarette tariffs geared towards better behavior. Some of his solutions include— a water withdrawl fee that would pay for the ecological impacts of removing water from our ecosystem, a gasoline sales tax that could help pay for the environmental impacts roads have on the landscape, for example, habitat fragmentation and runoff pollution. And last but not least he recommended an environmental impact fee that would help offset the environmental costs of new residential developments.

These issues and solutions are just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout Lombard's book one can find local implementations of laws, growth management, and cause and effect of long term conservation. If you can't buy his book Saving Puget Sound at the very least visit his website. Lombard's ideas are not only a model for potentially saving the Puget Sound ecosystem, but they can act as a guide for other worldly regions.

On a side note— Lombard mentioned stormwater management as one of the best ways individuals can contribute to conserving our Puget Sound ecosystem. Here are some simple strategies:

• Wash your car at places that recycle the water or wash your car on grass— it filters water naturally
• Install rain barrels
• Plant native, drought-resistant plants that don't require a lot of watering
• Use drip irrigation or soaker hoses and only turn them on when needed
• Water deeply once a week instead of lightly more often
• Water when it is dark— vegetation will retain the water
• Rake your leaves so they don't collect in the drains
• Scoop dog feces— prevents infestation and disease
• Drive your car less
• Support public transportation initiatives in your area

Links to Seattle organizations contributing to conservation
Shared Strategy for Puget Sound
Puget Sound Partnership
Cascade Agenda