What Matters
THE ISSUES
Securing Wastewater Solutions
The growing development of Cape Cod has led to a vast increase in the nitrogen leaching into our environment. This leads to contamination of our freshwater aquifers and contributes to nutrient pollution in our ponds and estuaries, threatening public health and causing significant harm to the plants and animals that consider Cape Cod their home.
In order to protect our drinking water and preserve our local ecosystem it’s crucial to build wastewater infrastructure—sewering and water treatment plants—that can withstand our growing population. This will not be easy, and we need to leverage federal, state, and regional resources to guarantee that local home-owners aren’t left shouldering this burden alone.
Creating Attainable Housing
Nothing is more critical to the future of our region than guaranteeing access to affordable housing for our young and working population. As house prices soar, my generation, our neighbors, and the essential workers that make Cape Cod run are pushed out of the towns they call home. The status quo is unsustainable.
Lack of housing will continue to have a growing negative impact on the economy and quality of life for everyone in the region. Our solutions must be innovative and underscore the urgency of the issue we face. Within this generation, the way in which we decide to address housing will inevitably define what it means to be a Cape Codder.
Creating Attainable Housing
Nothing is more critical to the future of our region than guaranteeing access to affordable housing for our young and working population. As house prices soar, my generation, our neighbors, and the essential workers that make Cape Cod run are pushed out of the towns they call home. The status quo is unsustainable.
Lack of housing will continue to have a growing negative impact on the economy and quality of life for everyone in the region. Our solutions must be innovative and underscore the urgency of the issue we face. Within this generation, the way in which we decide to address housing will inevitably define what it means to be a Cape Codder.
Leading on Climate Change
Climate change is a global issue, however, living on the Cape, we are uniquely susceptible to its devastating environmental impact. We see, first-hand, the effects increasingly severe weather and unpredictable climate patterns have on our coastline and wildlife. We must invest in solutions which mitigate the dangers of rising sea-levels, increasingly severe nor’easters, and warming temperatures on our homes and towns.
Additionally, it’s on us to do our part as global citizens by transitioning to renewable energy, decreasing our carbon emissions, and minimizing the pollution we produce. Communities like ours can, and absolutely should, lead the way into a sustainable future. If done right, we can lead the way all while making smart investments in green industries that will bring stable, local jobs for decades to come.
Investing in Innovative Infrastructure
In order to create a Cape Cod that transcends our identity as a tourism destination, we have to make smart investments in infrastructure that support the ability of year-round residents to survive and thrive. It’s critical to provide resources that make it possible for working people to see a future in Cape towns.
We must invest in our K-12 schools, support our year-round industries, secure the ability for workers to sustainably commute, and fight to place our towns on the right side of the global digital divide—making the Cape a hospitable location for both workers and innovative employers.
Leading on Climate Change
Climate change is a global issue, however, living on the Cape, we are uniquely susceptible to its devastating environmental impact. We see, first-hand, the effects increasingly severe weather and unpredictable climate patterns have on our coastline and wildlife. We must invest in solutions which mitigate the dangers of rising sea-levels, increasingly severe nor’easters, and warming temperatures on our homes and towns.
Additionally, it’s on us to do our part as global citizens by transitioning to renewable energy, decreasing our carbon emissions, and minimizing the pollution we produce. Communities like ours can, and absolutely should, lead the way into a sustainable future. If done right, we can lead the way all while making smart investments in green industries that will bring stable, local jobs for decades to come.
Responding to the Opioid Epidemic
No other issue is as much a question of life and death as the way in which we respond to the effects of opioid addiction in our community. This epidemic is a symptom of deeper issues within our treatment of mental health and the lack of societal support systems. The ripples of untreated mental health and substance abuse issues affect everyone in our region. It’s crucial that we approach this issue from the perspective of treating it as an illness.
On an individual level, our solutions need to start with destigmatizing addiction, encouraging people to seek help, providing treatment, and creating a path to success for those in recovery. On a community level, we have to provide preventative resources to those in need and seek to invest in community solutions that go beyond treating the symptoms of this epidemic, creating much needed social support networks.