Sustainability
by Allen Larson

The next time you go to Anthony's Cummaquid Inn in Yarmouth Port in the mid-Cape region, or the Flying Bridge Restaurant in Falmouth, or one of the wharf restaurants in Provincetown, you're sure to appreciate one of the Cape's many majestic views of the wetlands and water that attract people from every part of the world. In understated ways, these businesses raise our awareness of the unique ecosystem that is this place. And yet it's not likely that any one of these establishments could be built today.

The next time you visit Sandy Neck in Barnstable or Sandwich, or Gray's Beach in Yarmouth Port, or the boardwalk in Sandwich, or the Drummer Boy Park in Brewster, look out across the Cape Cod Bay and see if you can see the Boston Harbor Outfall Pipe. It's big. It's nine miles long, but because it sits under the surface and doesn't obstruct your view, it's not likely that you'll give its presence much thought or wonder why it was permitted, or what its impact may be on fish stocks and the encompassing underwater ecosystems that scientists say make the bay an ocean sanctuary.

The next time you drive across the bridges, Bourne or Sagamore, or along the Scenic Highway, or Route 132, or Route 134 for that matter, or along Route 6, or try to turn into the entrance to the Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical School, you might wonder why there is such an emphasis on the bike path. Did you ever wonder if we would now be able to enjoy this recreational pathway or enhance it with overpasses and street connections if there had not first been a railroad here? MORE