March 2019

The increasing threats to our fragile environment on Cape Cod, the Vineyard, and Nantucket led us to survey both our vacationers and homeowners to see what support there might be for us to add options for “green” features to our rental home listings. We specifically pointed out two main risks, which have spiked considerably in intensity within the past couple of years.

First threat: Last year, China started rejecting much of the world's recycling due to its contamination (non-recyclables mixed in, food waste, unwashed, etc.), and thus much of it is now ending up in landfills. While many experts are urgently exploring viable alternatives, the best current recommendation is to apply the so-called 4 R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle. Note that recycling is last on the list.

Second threat: Climate change. In the fall of 2018, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a report warning the world that the natural forces of climate change are accelerating faster than previously predicted, and as a result it is more urgent than ever for nations and individuals to take bold action.

Below are the results of our vacationer and homeowner surveys.