Environmental Sustainability

As a communications professional by trade, I feel like a failure as I come to realize now that I haven’t said anything specific about what my intentions are when it comes to environmental sustainability. My assumption was that folks knew environmental sustainability has been and is a part of my everyday life. We all know what happens when you assume. If elected, I will weave environmental sustainability into the work I do every day on behalf of the citizens of Cary. Some ideas I have include:

• Reinstate the sustainability manager position, which was eliminated in 2020, using plans research and vetted during her tenure
• Work with current environmental leadership position, town forester, to make sure environmental sustainability is a priority
• Replace current lighting with LED lights in all town maintained street lights
• Replace current gas fueled vehicles with town fleet of electric vehicles, including electric charging stations throughout the town
• Install sustainable solar panels on every town building, starting with new construction, then phasing in older buildings
• Install solar panels on affordable housing projects for both the town and homeowner/renter’s benefit
• Increase bikeability and walkability reducing the need for cars on the roads, which is good for the environment, and traffic reduction
• Address climate change impacts including decreasing carbon output, increasing carbon sequestration

I’m positive more will be revealed in regards to ways we can better take care of the environment we live in. For instance, in the past year I’ve learned that North Carolina has more trees now than we did 100 years ago, that new, growing trees sequester more carbon than old growth trees, and that we are storing carbon in the forest products we use every day, like your dining room table or hardwood floors. I have enjoyed learning about the canopy and forestry in general through a statewide lens.  The main thing I’ve learned though is that we must take care of the land with which we have been entrusted. I vow to work towards this goal as your District C council candidate.