Last week we were told to minimize time outside because the air was unhealthy. This week, at least for my neighbors and me on Mashpee Wakeby Pond, we are told to avoid the water because of a potentially toxic cyanobacteria bloom. This one-two punch has released a flood of emotions, but the most persistent and dominant one is an urge to act more aggressively to push back on the assaults against the environment. Not to sound maudlin, but we each only get so many trips around the sun. The 2023 June weeks of missed time outside and in the water are lost; we don’t get them back on the other side. In addition to being saddened, I’m equal parts mad and motivated.
The realization that human behaviors are degrading places and resources hits us all differently. I get it if the sense of loss makes you want to sit in a dark room with a pint of Four Seas ice cream or to just throw in the towel. I had a few minutes of that on Sunday after hearing about the cyano closure in my backyard. I’m also very aware that I am lucky and that we here on Cape Cod enjoy much higher quality air and water than a huge percentage of the population. The things that we consider an inconvenience are an inescapable fact of life for millions.
In response to my own personal experience and the reminder that millions of people don’t have the option to stay in air-conditioned space or the option to avoid contaminated water, my thinking has changed. I want to push harder and more aggressively, not just on getting my town to take wastewater management and nutrient control more seriously, but across the board on climate management, open space preservation and water resources protection.
I have always considered myself a bit of an incrementalist, but perhaps no more. I am now realizing that the ticking of the clock has grown louder, not just because I am getting older, but because many of our natural systems have been pushed to the edge of the cliff. When they go over the edge, we go with them. Incrementalism might make sense, but not when time is short. How you spend your time is up to you, but I’m going keep swinging. I hope you will recommit yourself to action. Educate yourself, write letters, speak up, vote and make your opinions heard. Pushing for change may or may not make change but without the effort nothing will get better.
