Changes to our Puget Sound environment are not all bad, says John Lombard, author of the book Saving Puget Sound. In a talk put on by the Sammamish Valley Alliance in Woodinville recently he noted that water quality, water consumption per capita, and management of population growth are success stories in Puget Sound so far.

But he stated that by 2020 climate change will pose significant challenges to our water supply, and our population will double, both significantly affecting the Sammamish Valley and the growing economy of sustainable agriculture happening here.

Lombard offered a vision for regional conservation and ways to pay for it. He encouraged everyone to pay attention to the State Legislature this fall when the Puget Sound Partnership, a state environmental planning agency, will make recommendations for dealing with the challenges of population and water that we will face in 2020 – so that there will be good news about Puget Sound and the Sammamish Valley to report then, too.