Holidays flow into the water

The holiday spirit reached far and wide this season.

University of Washington researchers found elevated levels of cinnamon and vanilla in the Puget Sound. The AP article from Yahoo says that these baking ingredients that have made it into the waterways shouldn't harm marine life, however it does go to show that what you pour down the drain will make its way into the ecosystem (as with previous findings of levels of medications/painkillers and caffeine in waters in the PacNW and other parts of the world.)

While it is a bit amusing that researchers have tested for these baking ingredients in area waters, imagine what else they could find co-mingling with the fish from everyday household water waste, industrial effluents, and stormwater runoff...