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  "Empower Youth to Catalyze Community Sustainability"

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ACTION AGENDA

Scroll Down to find these topics:


  • Attitudes about our role

  • How can governments ensure a healthy environment?

  • Recycling

  • Composting

  • Dog Waste

  • Electronic Waste

  • Packaging

  • Lawn and Garden Care

  • Food Purchasing and Consumption

  • Energy Conservation

  • Water Conservation

  • Toxic Chemicals in the water or  consumer products

  • Knowledge about Pollution in Puget Sound and Stormwater

  • Transportation Choices


Snapshot Content Knowledge
A Library of Links to Support Classroom Inquiry

Overview | FAQ | Snapshot Data | Analysis and Action | Content Knowledge | Curriculum Applications

What environmental topics did the survey focus on?

  1. Attitudes about our role in maintaining a healthy environment
  2. Ideas about how government can best ensure a healthy environment
  3. Waste management: recycling, composting, dog waste, e-waste, packaging
  4. Lawn and garden care
  5. Food purchasing and consumption
  6. Energy conservation
  7. Water conservation: Leaking toilets
  8. Toxic chemicals in the water or in consumer products
  9. Knowledge about pollution in Puget Sound and stormwater
  10. Transportation choice

  1. Attitudes about our role in maintaining a healthy environment

National Action Plan for Educating for Sustainability:  In June 2013, the Center for Green Schools at the US Green Building Council envisioned a future where all students graduate educated for a sustainable future through the integration of the environment, economy, and equity, with the ability to apply systems thinking to problem solving and decision making. The National Action Plan establishes a step by step plan for how we can make educating for sustainability the new norm in the classroom, synonymous with an excellent education for all.

How can governments ensure a healthy environment?

Local governments are required by law to develop and update a comprehensive plan to manage their growth well into their future. Search: your city comprehensive plan  / King County strategic plan 

  1. Recycling

Search: you city recycling / King County recycling


King County has a great recycling resource page that helps you answer the question "What do I do with this?" http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/wdidw/


Zero Waste Washington protects people and our natural world by advocating for products designed and produced to be healthy, safe, and continually recycled and reused.  They use three main strategies (1) advocating policy changes for products and materials at the local, regional, and state levels; (2) engaging citizens in driving system changes; and (3) Implementing pilot projects to demonstrate that the desired change is possible. http://www.zerowastewashington.org/


The city of Seattle Zero Waste Strategy is a fascinating study in civics and economics and the environment: http://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/zerowaste.htm


The Washington State Recycling Association is a trade association with a diversity of members. You will find excellent resources here: 
http://www.wsra.net/?page=Recycling_Resources

  1. Composting

Cedar Grove Composting plays an important role in diverting organic waste from landfills. From two local facilities, they compost over 350,000 tons of residential and commercial yard and food waste annually. Their website is full of useful information about their process and products: https://cedar-grove.com/


Seattle Tilth has an excellent Master Composter/Soil Builder volunteer program that is a key partner in Seattle’s waste reduction and recycling efforts. They help city residents to build worm bins, recycle food and yard waste at their homes, build healthy urban soils and support thriving landscapes throughout the city. http://seattletilth.org/learn/mcsb

  1. Dog Waste

Puget Sound Starts Here teams up with musician, Martin Luther, to bring awareness to the effects of pet waste on the Puget Sound. Watch the Dog Doogity video here: http://pugetsoundstartshere.org/scoop-poop/


For the fecal bacteria science and monitoring visit the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound http://www.eopugetsound.org/science-review/section-6-marine-fecal-bacteria

  1. Electronic-Waste

The Story of Electronics is a video released in 2011 that employs the “Story of Stuff” narrated animation style hosted by Annie Leonard. http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-electronics/


The Electronics TakeBack Coalition promotes green design and responsible recycling in the electronics industry. Their goal is to protect the health and well-being of electronics users, workers, and the communities where electronics are produced and discarded by requiring consumer electronics manufacturers and brand owners to take full responsibility for the life cycle of their products. This page has a good overview of the problem with electronic waste. http://www.electronicstakeback.com/resources/problem-overview/  And here is another helpful page with guidelines for recycling your electronics: http://www.electronicstakeback.com/how-to-recycle-electronics/


Total Reclaim is the leading recycler of computers and electronics in the Pacific Northwest. http://www.totalreclaim.com/e-waste_problem.html


The e-Stewards Initiative is a project of the 
Basel Action Network, which is a 501(c)3 non-profit, charitable organization of the United States, based in Seattle, Washington. See their Introduction to the e-waste crisis which includes several videos here: http://www.e-stewards.org/the-e-waste-crisis/ Also study the issues that are driving the e-waste crisis: http://www.e-stewards.org/the-e-waste-crisis/why-does-this-problem-exist/


3R-Technologies, a local collector registered with the Washington State Department of Ecology, can accept most electronics for no recycling fee. If you have household e-waste, or your organization is a non-profit, a school district, a small government, or a small business (fewer than 50 employees) check out their services here: http://www.3rtechnology.com/

  1. Packaging

Food packaging: The Institute of Food Technologists has issued a Scientific Status Summary on food packaging and its impact on the environment. Read a synopsis here: http://www.ift.org/Knowledge-Center/Read-IFT-Publications/Science-Reports/Scientific-Status-Summaries/Editorial/Food-Packaging-and-Its-Environmental-Impact.aspx


Plastic Packaging: This page has great charts, graphs and numbers on the problem with plastic packaging: http://www.inspirationgreen.com/plastic-packaging-waste.html


How did the city of Issaquah ban plastic bags: http://www.ci.issaquah.wa.us/index.aspx?NID=1170


How did the city of Seattle ban plastic bags? http://www.seattle.gov/council/obrien/bagban/

  1. Lawn and Garden Care

King County has excellent resources on natural yard care here: http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/naturalyardcare/


Dig a little deeper at this link if you want to learn about the soil food web and soil chemistry:http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/naturalyardcare/soilbuilding.asp


Examine the same issue by looking at the relationship between healthy soil and salmon streams: http://www.soilsforsalmon.org/why.htm

  1. Food Purchasing and Consumption

See how the city of Seattle’s Food Action Plan is leading the nation in thinking about the systemic impacts of smart food policies: http://www.seattle.gov/environment/food/food-action-plan Does your city have a food action plan?


The Regional Food Policy Council (comprised on members from four central Puget Sound counties) has developed recommendations for local governments interested in addressing the local food economy and food access through policy and programs. The policy blueprints at this link provide recommendations illustrated by examples from the Puget Sound region. These show steps local jurisdictions have already taken to support the food system: http://www.psrc.org/about/advisory/regional-food-policy-council/

  1. Energy conservation

Puget Sound Energy has excellent tips, information and resources, including rebate programs for your school, your home and your business. https://pse.com/savingsandenergycenter/Pages/default.aspx

  1. Water conservation… (Leaking toilets)

Seattle Public Utilities and its 18 water district partners are building on recent success to conserve water which sustains our quality of life, saves on our water bills and protects salmon. Because of water-efficient fixtures, new practices in landscaping, and business and residential conservation efforts, we’ve been able to reduce water consumption by 14 percent in the past six years, from 92.2 to just 83.6 gallons per-person per day. Can you and your family conserve water even more efficiently than almost 100 gallons each day? http://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/Water/Water_Quality/WaterQualityAnnualReport/WaterConservation/index.htm


Maybe your water is supplied by the Cascade Water Alliance instead of Seattle Public Utilities. See the map on this page to find out. http://cascadewater.org/ The Cascade Water Alliance serves 350,000 residents and 20,000 businesses. To learn about their conservation initiatives, including tips on leaking toilets, explore this page: http://cascadewater.org/conservation.php

  1. Toxic chemicals in the water or in consumer products

The Washington Toxics Coalition has excellent information and resources on a wide range of toxic chemicals in our food, our air, our water, and the products we use every day. At this link you can click on the name of a chemical or chemical family for more information on how we are exposed, why we should be concerned about health risks, and what we can do to protect ourselves from these toxics. http://watoxics.org/chemicals-of-concern

  1. Knowledge about Pollution in Puget Sound and Stormwater

Study pages 1-17 of the Puget Sound Partnership’s Action Agenda for the best overview of the issues and proposed solutions for reducing polluted stormwater runoff.

http://www.psp.wa.gov/downloads/AA2011/083012_final/Action%20Agenda%20Book%201_Aug%2029%202012.pdf


Sightline Institute editor Lisa Stiffler investigates the problems and the solutions related to polluted stormwater runoff in a series of well-written blogs. http://daily.sightline.org/projects/stormwater-solutions-curbing-toxic-runoff/


Every city is required to post their plan for reducing polluted stormwater pollution on their website. Search for: City / Stormwater / Surface Water Management Plan

  1. Transportation Choices

Use Transportation Choices commute calculator here: http://transportationchoices.org/reasons/commute-calculator


Feet First is working to ensure all communities across Washington are walkable. Check out their program and resources here: http://www.feetfirst.org/


Walk Score is a software tool that calculates the walkability of your neighborhood. You can get you walk score for any address in the United States. They have also ranked 3,000 cities and over 10,000 neighborhoods to help people find a walkable home or apartment. http://www.walkscore.com/


Check out the city of Seattle’s Bicycle Master Plan and compare these strategies to what your city is working on. http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikeprogram.htm


Here is the regional transportation plan from the Puget Sound Regional Council comprised of four central Puget Sound counties. Transportation 2040 is an action plan for transportation in the central Puget Sound region for the next 30 years. By the year 2040, the region is expected to grow by roughly 1.5 million people and support more than 1.2 million new jobs. All of these new people and new jobs are expected to boost demand for travel within and through the region by about 40%. Study the plan: http://www.psrc.org/transportation/t2040/t2040-pubs/final-draft-transportation-2040


Overview | FAQ | Snapshot Data 2014 | Lesson Ideas | Content Knowledge | Curriculum Applications