Community Snapshots

"Snapshots" for individual communities will be developed in coordination with municipal officials and staff, students, and other local stakeholders. A prototype has been developed for the town of Barnstable.

Every town is struggling to pay its bills and meet other local needs in the face of rising costs for electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, heating oil, propane, and other energy sources.

Some Cape & Islands communities are more aggressive than others in seeking to use energy more efficiently, to adopt cleaner and green technologies, and to reduce their energy footprint.

Barnstable and Falmouth, for example, are participating in the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign. Two wind turbines are scheduled to be erected on town-owned land in Orleans this fall, and many other towns are exploring municipal wind projects. Vineyard communities have joined together in pursuit of a common vision—becoming a "Renewable Energy Island."

“Community Snapshot” pages are intended to characterize your town's current energy situation by addressing topics such as the following:

• Energy Consumption, Costs, Sources & Emissions
• Renewable Resources
• Key Officials & Policies
• Cleaner and Green Initiatives

Due to funding constraints, these pages have not yet been developed. A prototype has been created for the town of Barnstable.

Cape Cod

Barnstable | Bourne | Brewster | Chatham | Dennis | Eastham | Falmouth | Harwich
Mashpee | Orleans | Provincetown | Sandwich | Truro | Wellfleet | Yarmouth

Martha’s Vineyard

For information on the energy situation on Martha's Vineyard, click here.

Aquinnah | Chilmark | Edgartown | Oak Bluffs | Tisbury | West Tisbury

Nantucket

Nantucket

Content Guide
Homeowners
Students & Educators
Voters & Taxpayers
Businesses & Organizations
Municipal & Regional Officials
Entrepreneurs, Consultants & Developers

Dirty Roof

Conventional asphalt shingles are
the cheapest roofing material around but, as is usually the case, there is a cost: They are manufactured using petroleum by-products and, once they reach the end of their useful life, they must be landfilled as construction debris or “downcycled” as road materials or in other low-value uses. Credit: Houston Advanced Research Center

More Facts

Current Vision

Green Roof

Thatching represents an attractive and sustainable roofing solution. This thatched roof, gracing a barn in Yarmouthport, transforms an invasive wetland plant (Phragmites sp.) into a useful, biodegradable shelter.

More Visions