Fact 1: Island County is composed of two islands, Whidbey and Camano.

Fact 2: Drainage in Island County runs off the land and directly into Puget Sound.

Fact 3: Marine life in Puget Sound is struggling for existence, be it whales, salmon, shellfish or plankton. This decline has been causally related to the overuse of pesticides in the Puget Sound basin as a whole.

Fact 4: Commercial sale of a product does not necessarily make it good for the environment.

Fact 5: Island County’s road department does not really know exactly what it is they are spraying on the roadsides because Monsanto and others do not reveal all the compounds used in their pesticide formulations.

Considering the above facts, why doesn’t Island County take a leadership position and ban the use of pesticides on its roads and their sale in our stores?

Island County has over 200 miles of shoreline in the Puget Sound. Wouldn’t it be nice to be the shining example of helping heal instead of perpetuating the problem?

Jo Van Patten

Greenbank