Sustainable Communities

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A Sustainable Community balances commerce, residential living, recreation, transportation, clean air and water, culture, aesthetics, open spaces, and protection of wildlife and sensitive habitat. Each person plays an important role in maintaining a clean environment because cumulative impacts may result as the greatest contributor to pollution.

Everyone can take simple steps to promote a healthy environment and restore your own personal space to a more natural surrounding. One approach is to live simply so as not to over consume which reduces waste, clutter in your home, and saves you money.

Simple things you can do:

Buy used goods to get more use out of them (clothing, sports equipment, furniture).

Ride bikes, the bus, or walk instead of using a car.

Reuse- old containers, wagons, or pots can be used as planters, print on both sides of the paper, use old buttons and cloth for your art projects

Don’t litter- put a bag in your car for trash or other areas where people may be tempted to litter

Volunteer to clean up the environment- Organizations like Heal the Bay (www.healthebay.org) provide opportunities to clean up the beaches and creek. Donating to organizations, like Mountains Restoration Trust (www.mountainstrust.org), is also a great way to protect and restore open space.

Tips for Businesses:

Integrate the environment and the economy in all levels of decision-making. Utilize economic appraisals that fully value the costs of goods and services (including environmental and social impacts).

Revise how we measure and value growth to be equitable, long-term, and reflect quality of life elements.

Incorporate economic incentives that encourage the conservation of resources: reflect the total cost of goods; and shift the burden of taxes and fees from the public to the user.