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WORKING TOGETHER

The reversal of the pollution of Lake Washington is a particularly clear example of how environmental science can work to identify, address, and solve environmental problems. One element of the Lake Washington story is of particular importance as we try to address far more complex global environmen­tal problems today: the lake's pollution problem was solved only because the many small towns in­volved in the problem cooperated in seeking a solu­tion. Environmental science provided the informa­tion that identified the source of the problem and suggested a solution, but implementation of that solution depended critically on a political decision. In the final analysis, it is people, not scientists, who must solve environmental problems.