John LaVassar

I will visit my nearest Puget Sound farm to learn about locally produced food and the quality of life of all involved in producing it to make better choices for Puget Sound when I shop.

I will replace my lawn with a drought-tolerant landscape and save the water, money, and time I used to spend cutting the grass.

I will prevent harmful storm-water runoff to the Puget Sound and/or Pacific Ocean and increase absorbency by mulching the base of plants and trees at my home or work.

I will save up to 20 gallons (75 L) of water each day by taking 5-minute showers to minimize my water footprint, as in many watersheds, a drop for me is one less for salmon, which then warms streams or impairs salmon streamflows.

I will cut my car trip mileage by only taking necessary trips thus avoid sending exhaust particles and tire pollution into stormwater that impacts Orca and salmon health.

When I wash my car I will always take it to a commercial car wash facility to avoid driveway drainage of toxic chemicals entering the storm drain and local waterways, poisoning fish and Orcas in Puget Sound and/or the Pacific Ocean.

Plastic bags and small plastic pieces like straws are most likely to get swept into our Puget Sound and/or Pacific Ocean waterways. I will keep 6 plastic straw(s) out of the landfill per day by refusing straws or using my own glass/metal straw.

I will not accept any disposable bags when making purchases further reducing plastics that may enter Puget Sound and/or the Pacific Ocean.

Spend 90 minutes educating my family/friends about Southern Resident Orca Whales and their endangered food supply.

Contamination prevents what is recyclable from being recycled. I will research and recycle all materials that are accepted by my local haulers or drop stations in my community.