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Ted Sturdevant, Ecology Director

March 2011
As individuals and as a society, I believe one of our most basic responsibilities is to pass on to those that come after us a world that is as good as, or better than, the one given to us. Decency requires that we be concerned not just for our own quality of life, but for the quality of life of those who will follow us. We all might have different ideas of what a high quality of life looks like, but I think we can generally agree that it depends upon a strong economy, vibrant communities and a healthy environment.

Here at the Department of Ecology, it is our particular responsibility to be stewards of Washington’s natural environment — for today as well as tomorrow. However, stewardship is really everyone’s job. If our way of living degrades that environment over time, today’s generation will fail to meet this basic responsibility. That’s not a situation we can accept, or explain to our children.

As we come to better understand our interactions with our natural environment, we see that in too many ways, the health of that environment is being eroded as time passes. Too many greenhouse gases enter the atmosphere each day; too many toxic chemicals are released into our homes and our waterways; more paved surfaces create more stormwater and polluted runoff that contaminate streams and ruin fish habitat; and uncontrolled withdrawals of already overused water leaves too little for fish, farms and communities that depend on a sustainable water supply.

To get out of a hole, quit digging

If instead we reach a balance where a strong economy and vibrant communities co-exist with a healthy natural environment, we will have lived up to the responsibility our children and grandchildren have the right to expect of us. To get there, we first have to stop digging the hole in which we find ourselves. We can’t keep adding to the problem and expect to protect our quality of life – we have to choose one or the other. Where everyday practices are making things worse, we need new practices. We need to live our lives and do our business in ways the environment and people can sustain over time. And we need to continue to repair and clean up the mistakes of our past, now that we know better.

In a rapidly changing and growing world, this is a big job. But there is reason for hope. We are learning so much, so fast, about how our practices impact our environment, and we are learning how to lessen and eliminate those impacts. We are developing exciting new sectors of our economy that promise good jobs and a better environment, from clean energy to green chemistry. We are learning to protect property along rivers and beaches with more natural approaches. And we’re finding ways to grow without taking water from streams or creating new stormwater problems.

We are realizing that pollution doesn’t happen just from a distant smokestack or pipe, but also from how we live our daily lives, from driving our cars to generating waste and depleting finite resources. And with that knowledge, we are finding new solutions — biofuels and electricity that can power our cars, and closed-loop systems that can transform yesterday’s waste into tomorrow’s resources.

Will the next generations say "Job well done" ?

There is much, much more to be done. That balance we must reach is not yet within our grasp. But with the knowledge we have, the tools we are developing every day, the longstanding commitment Washington State has to our environment, and a Governor who has dedicated herself to protecting and improving our quality of life, we must, we can and we will reach a point where the passage of time does not mean the erosion of our quality of life. Then we can hope to hear from the next generation: “job well done.”

This is the work we are doing at Ecology every day. It’s not easy, and we’re not perfect, but the citizens of Washington should know that a committed and talented group of public servants are working hard on everyone’s behalf to secure a quality of life we can all be proud of. It is my honor and privilege to lead Ecology in that effort every day. If all of us in Washington set our sights on that future, and insist on getting there, I am confident we will.

April 2010
Video: Earth Week 2010 Message from Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant (4/16/2010)