Doing our duty with the environment: What Washingtonians should know.

Doing our duty means so many things to so many people and or situation. But what this essentially entails is, doing what is reasonable and right. With respect to sustainable environment and productive economy, McDonough and Braungart in their epic book, Cradle to Cradle, indicated that doing our duty means when industries and people: 1) build buildings which like trees produce more energy than they consume; 2) develop factories that produce effluents that ends up being people’s drinkable waters; 3) establish transportation systems that improve people’s quality of life as they strive to deliver goods and services; 4) produce trillion dollars worth of goods and materials that serve human and natural purposes; and 5) spin out products that are recyclable; alternatively, products that can return industrial cycles to supply high-quality raw materials for new products. Fortunately, Washingtonians are familiar with doing our duty with respect to these identified obligations. We championed neighborhood recyclable bins in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Where we have been lacking is our ability to remain consistent with our goals and prodding our law makers to do the right thing.

To help us overcome this handicap, we will do the following in the coming weeks:
1) Call our legislatures and inform them of the consequences of their actions when they go against the will of the people, regarding clean energy and renewable resources; 2) Affirm the intrinsic value of clean water runoffs and why the cost-benefit analysis is an effective method for accessing impact of environmental decisions; 4) Communicate to each person around them that, while science is a very critical avenue for predicting environmental consequences of pollution, it must however be complemented with moral reasoning; 5) breath heavily on all lobbyist groups by encouraging our attorney generals to enforce laws on the books regarding lobbyist financial disclosure reports; and, 6) Call the Gregoire’s and Obama’s administration regarding our desire for a toxic free future, with safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals in the air. It is very ludicrous to presume that concern for the health of our environment is overboard. With all that is happening in the atmosphere and from scientific and practical point of view, it will be laughable if we do not raise issues with the ways laws regarding clean air, water and environment are being relegated to the back; or as my friend will like to say, kicked around the curb!