Remember back when the early talk about climate change predicted sweltering heat, long droughts interrupted by tropical downpours, and poor air quality driven by increased wildfire activity? Those predictions describe July on Cape Cod—this July actually.
The debate is over. We are living in an altered climate and dealing with the changes that are already impacting our everyday existence. Staying inside because it was too hot or smoky to be outside is not exactly the summer experience most of us want to have, but conditions this month drove many inside just as a cold winter day would.
All of this is happening at a time when the federal government has walked away from any pretense of caring about this nation’s contributions to accelerating climate change. Even the state seems to be backing away from commitments to investing in energy efficiency through cuts to MassSave. Given these broader changes that seem beyond the reach of Cape Codders, pondering what is left to do is a fair question.
For us the answer is clear and straightforward. As I often told my kids when they were younger and upset about some grand injustice, control what you can control. If you have been reading here for long you know what is coming: We need to act locally on increasing land protection, resource restoration, investment in water quality improvement and doing more to make your yard an area that contributes to habitat sustainability and quality.
If Cape Codders do more to restore wetlands and marshes, we enhance our ability to adapt, mitigate and survive the extremes of temperature, storminess and flooding that are here and getting worse. If we reduce the nutrient load to our waters, ponds, bays, and wetlands, we will be better positioned to deal with increased temperature and less stressed than they would be otherwise. Land protected from development increases our resilience and buys us time from the worst effects of climate change. A yard not contaminated by chemical enhancements and populated by plants that support the species who call Cape Cod home will help those species survive despite all the other stress they endure.
We can do these things locally if we choose to—no matter what else is happening nationally or globally.
No one is coming to save our land, water, and other natural resources. If we want to preserve Cape Cod, it is up to us to do the grassroots work at the local level to make the changes we need.
We can help with that! If you are with us, then get involved.
