Healthy, sustainable economies of the 21st Century and beyond are strongly linked to a healthy environment, which includes protection of critical natural habitat areas, protection of biodiversity, preservation of farms and open space, development of renewable energy sources, and conservation of land and water resources. To me it is a moral obligation to assure that our grandchildren and all our succeeding generations are guaranteed a clean and healthy environment and the ability to enjoy the restorative powers of a walk in the woods or a sail on Narragansett Bay.
Whether it is the farmer in West Kingston, the fisherman in Snug Harbor or the summer cottage owner on Point Judith Pond, many residents of South County are dependent for their livelihoods and well-being on a healthy natural environment and well managed natural resources. Since I am professionally interested in fisheries and aquaculture, I am keenly interested in assuring sound public policies affecting those industries. I am also strongly supportive of our local farms as a source of locally produced food products that will become more important as the price of gasoline and diesel fuel makes food produced in distant places much more costly. Well-run and profitable farms are not only good environmental stewardship because of their conservation of rural open space, but they are good for local town budgets because they require less municipal services (schools and roads), thus they often serve as net generators of local tax revenues. Our local Rhode Island State Senator Susan Sosnowski has a long and distinguished record in promoting sound agricultural and environmental policies that deserve a strong champion in the House of Representatives. Like Sen. Sosnowski, I pledge my strongest support for sustainable farm policies and environmental stewardship and protection.
One of the most serious environmental issues with economic consequences in Rhode Island is our dependence upon fossil fuels for our transportation and home heating needs. I am highly supportive of grass roots efforts in Rhode Island to develop public policy that builds incentives for a wide range of alternative energy sources, including wind, solar, small-scale hydroelectric either fully off-grid or through net metering programs in which excess power produced by regular consumers would either reduce their power bills or ultimately turn a profit for the homeowner. Such efforts are not only good for the environment by reducing greenhouse gasses, but they would be a boost to entrepreneurial companies locally.