KPLU Local News
(2010-06-24)
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Herons on Puget Sound.
AP Photo.
Let's say you want to know if there are any hazardous waste sites in your neighborhood. Go online, click on the menu, and all the hazardous waste sites in the Puget Sound region will pop up on a Google Map. It uses data sets from the Washington Department of Ecology and other agencies.
Chris Wilke says the map is a tool to find out all kinds of environmental information.
"Are those waters classified as impaired? Are the shellfish beds closed in that area or are they open? Are there salmon runs nearby, seal and sealion haulouts, orca whale sightings, even?"
Wilke is with the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, an environmental non-profit that created the map. He says it's a good way to get the public engaged in understanding the challenges the Sound faces.
The group hopes that by putting practical information about the Sound into an easy-to-access format, people will be more willing to make lifestyle changes to reduce their environmental impact.
How Clean Is Your Water? interactive map of Puget Sound
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