LarsonReport.com

 

Sustainability

 

 

An Action Plan for Cape Cod


Part 1.  Are We Better Off?

Part 2.  Sustaining Cape Cod

Part 3.  The Truro Survey

Part  4.  SWOT

Part 5.  Quality-of-Life Indicators
 
Part 6.  Opportunities for Truro

Part 7.  Confessions to Soothe My Soul and Clean My Dishes

Part 8.  An Academic Chair

Part 9.  A Personal Tool Kit

The Cape Cod Sustainability Scorecard

 

Perspectives on Sustainability

 

Sustainability Reference Desk

 

Articles on Sustainability

 

Articles on Sustainability Indicators

 

To download the Cape Cod Sustainability Indicators Report 2003, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


                                                        SustainCapeCod.org

 

An Action Plan to Achieve 
Sustainability on Cape Cod

 

Part 6.  Opportunities for Truro

An Editorial by Glenn Ritt

 

Several weeks ago, we published the results of a survey by Truro residents exploring how to sustain the town’s quality of life.

Today, we focus on the dozen opportunities identified by nearly 100 forum participants and survey respondents. While the project is not scientific, the insight gained can serve as a roadmap for the future.

As a follow-up, the Cape Codder encourages our Truro readers to write letters to us about these and other opportunities you see for your town. We also hope to organize another forum in early May to discuss all twelve of these opportunities.

It’s all part of our continuous series of forums being conducted in all the Outer Cape towns in conjunction with our "Sustaining Cape Cod" series.

For us, each of the twelve opportunities you have identified becomes a potential story. We can talk to many other people in town about your ideas; we can identify their pros and cons. We can determine how other towns on the Cape and in Massachusetts are addressing similar opportunities.

What appeals to us as journalists is the grassroots character of these themes. We didn’t sit back in our newsroom and conjure up these opportunities. They came directly from the community.

That is precious guidance for a local newspaper. What becomes even more exciting is the opportunity to help organize community-wide conversations about these opportunities - and then report back to even more residents of Truro.

Here are the dozen opportunities. What do you think of them? Are there others missing?

 

  1. Improve intertown cooperation.

  2. Build the Stop & Shop supermarket.

  3. Increase interactivity among government bodies.

  4. Share resources and equipment among town government and the school district.

  5. Extend the summer shuttle bus service to year-round.

  6. Maximize Pamet Harbor.

  7. Develop a clearinghouse of resources.

  8. Build a bike trail to the town center.

  9. Develop the Highlands Center for cultural activities.

  10. Improve volunteerism.

  11. Organize seniors and teens to baby-sit so busy parents can attend public meetings.

  12. Use empty houses in the off-season for affordable rentals.

Next:  Part 7.  Confessions to soothe my soul and clean my dishes

Editor's note:  All of the articles included in "An Action Plan" were published and are copyrighted by the Community Newspapers'  Register, Cape Codder, and Upper Cape Codder.

 

Cape Cod Twilight
photograph by Allen Larson