Project Ideas
The issue of water pollution is an extremely pressing and controversial issue. Water is instrumental to life and the amount available to the world that is usable is limited despite the large bodies of water that exist. More and more water eco-systems are damaged and tainted from run-off of impervious surfaces, oil from boats, and C02 emissions that sink into the water. The Puget Sound is an eco-system at risk of water pollution. Especially because everyday thousands of people commute using the ferries. I propose to research the current water laws and learn how and if water pollution is regulated in the Puget Sound and if there are sustainable alternatives that can be implemented to lessen the damage of water pollution on the Sound.
Posts
I really like this project idea, the declining health of the Sound is one of the most important topics here in the Northwest. I know a big part of the problem comes from the leeching of sewage from private septic tanks located too close to puget sound beaches. The sewage results in extremely hight levels of nitrogen in the water, leading to algal blooms. When the algae dies it sucks up all the oxygen in the water as it decomposes, leading to anoxic "dead zones." I'm really curious to hear what political actions have been proposed to fix the sewage leakage problem in particular, so if you concentrated on it I would be really happy. Of course, I wouldn't expect you to focus your project on a topic I find interesting, and all the other sources of pollution you mentioned are also really important. But, if you find yourself with some extra time, it might be a cool topic to include in your project. I would certainly appreciate it!
-Mollie
Hi James, this sounds like a good foundation to me. I'm in the "Politics" group, and I was hoping to look at some of the same issues in relation to advocacy and education efforts by public agencies.
Researching current water laws sounds like a good start, but it could be helpful to have a more narrow focus to guide your research and final project. For instance, Mollie's ideas about focusing on political activity related to dead zones might be a good route to go, seeing as how this is a Communication class.
You mentioned state ferries- I think that you could definitely use that issue to frame your project. A couple of questions to consider:
-How much do ferries contribute to pollution in the Puget Sound?
-Do ferries face political opposition because of their environmental effects?
-What are the ferries doing to reduce their impact?
-Who are the political actors involved?
-etc.
Hey James!
People for Puget Sound would be a great resource for this project. I was just poking around on their website (http://pugetsound.org/) and it's really detailed and well organized. They have articles about every one of the topics that you mentioned: ferries, politics, regulation, etc. They also talk about the sewage problem that Mollie mentioned above. If you researched that then you could call your project 'Puget Poop.' Lol.
-Anya
P.S. I can only post as 'anonymous' for some reason...
Anya