Puget Sound saviors wage war on pet poop 14

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1. 

   Matt Petryni Posted 2:42 am
   17 Sep 2009

   I've wondered about this for a while. I mean, fundamentally the problem is the trifecta of so many pollutants, so many impervious surfaces and so much stormwater.And while the meager measures like the bag tax - ahem, this last election aside - and the Seattle Green Factor could someday help to slow the ungodly accumulation of the first two, this problem will always be a struggle when you have so many people discharging so much waste to such small a water body. And not to even mention Victoria's long tradition of raw sewage disposal straight into the ocean, a sheer travesty by even the most conservative environmental standards.My question, though, is how does the Puget Sound compare to other well-populated water bodies like Chesapeake Bay or the Great Lakes? I feel like this is the kind of problem that is by no means local and by no means new.

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2. 

   Biodiversivist Posted 10:52 am
   17 Sep 2009

   A) nobody scoops cat shitB) the mountains of dog poop in back yards is the problemLaws that limit dog and cat ownership to a single animal and maybe smaller lap animals, along with much bigger licensing fees to help clean up the sound would help, but none of that is going to happen. Dogs and cats have evolved into genetically engineered opiod releasers. People use them for their daily fixes. 

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      demolitionwoman Posted 12:20 pm
      17 Sep 2009

      Ah, yes.  Maybe next we can work on bioengineering human beings to only weigh 20 lbs so that our offensive poop will be smaller. Good to see the sanctimonious sect has weighed in.So sorry that my rescue dog (aka BADEVILDRUG!) is ruining the earth.  Y'know, there ARE options that don't involve fascist breed/size/number laws.  Such as using biodegradable bags to pick up poop.  Or creating poop composting stations. my eyes can't roll hard enough...

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      1. 

         Matt Petryni Posted 1:56 pm
         17 Sep 2009

         Sometimes in these debates I find myself wishing we could just legislate ignorance out of existence...

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      chrisblood Posted 1:04 pm
      17 Sep 2009

      If you read the article a bit closer you would realize that the problem is probably 'curbed' pets fouling the storm water runoff. If people's backyards and flower gardens (likely repository of running wild cats) are flooding into the storm sewers there is a bigger problem with their property than pet poo.

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3. 

   Scott C Posted 12:19 pm
   17 Sep 2009

   Now while it's true that many people let their cats roam outside and their shit is never picked up, I wonder how much more of an impact that has than when guardians flush cat litter down the toilet - where it's known to kill sea otters, due to toxoplasmosis.And I also agree that those who have dogs and don't pick up after them in their own backyards, is a huge problem, let alone a lack of responsibility issue - which seems to be the cause of most of our ailments on this planet.But limiting the amount of animals a responsible guardian can have is just plain silly. However I am all for a major increase in penalty fines for those who do not pick up their animal's feces, like $200 or more!BIODIVERSIVIST - humans have had a relationship with animals for millions of years, and while no one knows what brought the first wolf to want to "socialize" with humans, it happened and with it a bond was formed. So it's not as if they've only recently become our 'daily fixes' within the past few hundred years, and there is no going back.So what is needed, is a huge awakening that we are ALL CONNECTED, regardless where you live or what you do. The whales are no different than the wolves being eradicated in the Rockies -http://animalrights.change.org/blog/view/updates_on_wolves_whales_and_dolphins_the_hunts_go_on 

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   1. 

      featherfish81 Posted 3:37 pm
      17 Sep 2009

      Yeah, I agree the problems associated with flushing cat litter need to be better publicized.  For awhile I flushed the cat litter, thinking it was better because I was keeping it out of the landfill and it was getting treated in the sewage system, just like my waste.  And I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this way.

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         MeganW_24 Posted 11:57 am
         18 Sep 2009

         It is disgusting what is happening to our local water ways. And I too have once scooped my own cat litter and flushed it because I was swayed by the marketing on the litter bags- promoting flushing. Though I do not agree with increasing legislation- there has to be more EDUCATION and then regulation on products that we use and how we dispose of them. Once we have the knowledge of what these things are doing to our sound- I know each of us could make the right decisions from everything from poop to cleaning products.

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4. 

   dreamer Posted 1:39 pm
   17 Sep 2009

   The root problem: too many humans. If the US and world population had been stabilized at about the 1960s levels of 3.5 billion people, Puget Sound might still have a better chance. Yes, even if we had stabilized the population, we still needed sustainable practices and pollution controls, better technology, and most of all, add "self-restraint" to each American's personal dreams. Suppose each human in USA could vote for a future strategy:1) extreme self-restraint, live VERY modestly, no growth in personal consumption, smallest house possible, no wasting energy on hobbies, most efficient transportation only .. in order to allow for global and local population growth?2) a lifestyle with more personal freedoms like we have chosen, knowing that each of us has a footprint 4x larger than the planet can sustain. We chose to allow and spur growth of all kinds: exponential growth in the number of people and exponential growth in consumption. With a predictable abrupt and ugly and painful end. But hey, we can scoop dog poop to help the whales. I realize that the US Northwest is progressive on supporting birth control -- it's it's too little, too late ... unless we get rid of the religious ideologues in American leadership and promote voluntary family planning worldwide. While supporting those who want to raise a small family and ensuring a better world for the next generation.

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5. 

   nancybtoo Posted 9:06 am
   18 Sep 2009

   I am disappointed that the headline of the article and the bulk of the comments are aimed at the poop part of the toxic input to the Sound. Why are we not talking about lawn chemicals and leaky cars? Surely those chemicals are more persistent in the environment and more directly toxic to the animals and general ecology of the Sound. Looking around my neighborhood, I see oil spots on the street in front of quite a few houses, and herbicide and fertilizer use by several homeowners. I don't see any dog poop in the street. It's easy to get worked up on both sides about dog poop and that is why the word poop is in the headline. But if you read the website, the specific toxins they mention are more related to chemical inputs especially PCBs.
   
   Nancy

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   1. 

      Matt Petryni Posted 7:46 pm
      18 Sep 2009

      This is a good point also.

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6. 

   drudnick Posted 10:27 pm
   18 Sep 2009

   Nope, we're not alone in this, that's for sure. Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf coast, the Hudson River, San Francisco Bay, Boston Harbor- its all awash in metals and bacteria, endocrine disruptors and caffeine (by the way, Victoria isnt the only place that dumps raw sewage into the ocean - Massachusetts does this too). In fact, we've got it alot better than some of these other places that are shallower and have higher residence times, meaning polluted water sticks around longer and gets more concentrated. But just because our Sound isnt "unique" in anthropogenic contamination, doesnt mean we shouldnt be doing our darndest to clean it up! Let's not forget that Ohio's Cuyahoga River was once so polluted it actually caught fire, but is now pretty darned comparatively clean. We have many good examples of bringing rivers and estuaries back to life, but we need the will to do it. And in a place with millions of people, that's a lot of will! I applaud Puget Sound Partnership for making a commitment to educating folks and focusing on proactive solutions to cleaning up the Sound to the benefit of all of us- people, fish, orcas and all.
   
   Yes, poop is only part of the problem, but there's no doubt it is a major link to specific issues- e coli, MRSA, and other issues that limit recreational contact with water (not to mention lots of unknown effects of bacteria and microorganisms on Sound wildlife). These are different pathways of risk- not that chemical inputs are not also highly problematic, hence the article's intro about the amount of oil that gets put into the Sound, which should be startling enough on its own!

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7. 

   Biodiversivist Posted 10:29 am
   19 Sep 2009

   Their effort certainly won't do any harm, which is a plus. At least they are not paving a road to hell like some well intentioned efforts.
   
   
   There are limits to what "educating" people can do. I suspect we are already at that limit with Puget Sound. Here is a timely piece in the NYT about the lack of government enforcement. It has almost 500 comments already.
   
   
   The Saviors website has this to say about backyard dog crap:
   
   Backyard poop is a big problem. Keep your yard clean of pet waste by scooping at least weekly if possible
   
   
   For pet waste in your yard, we recommend picking it up every couple days
   
   
   
   Pet waste is raw sewage. It contains hazardous organisms that cause bacterial contamination in local streams, rivers and lakes. When it rains, bacteria in dog poop is carried by stormwater runoff to storm drains, ditches and streams that feed our rivers, lakes and Puget Sound. Dog waste contains fecal coliform bacteria and other disease-causing organisms such as salmonella, roundworms and giardia. These bacteria can make water unsafe to drink or swim in.
   
   
   They make no mention of cats at all. This comment field software is just full of bugs.
   

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8. 

   Biodiversivist Posted 10:39 am
   19 Sep 2009

   Link fail. Just cut and paste this text: http://projects.nytimes.com/toxic-waters/polluters/washington

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