Sustainability in San Marcos

 Eating local food - whether grown by your own hands or purchased from a local farm - and less meat are great ways to integrate sustainable action into your personal life. Creating a garden in your backyard, renting a plot at one of our neighborhood gardens, connecting with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscription, or adopting some meat-free habits are all ways to support a more sustainable food system. 

San Marcos has a local transit system - The Bus - and a growing network of bike and sidewalk infrastructure for cycling and rolling/walking. Compact and connected land use that is not dependent on single-occupancy vehicles strengthens alternative transportation networks. Supporting infill development and making some or all trips by stepping outside and hopping on a sidewalk, bike lane, or bus reduces carbon emissions associated with transportation and builds healthier individuals and social networks.

Moving away from fossil fuels and reducing overall energy use can help households save money while reducing damage to the planet. Smaller dwelling units and attached housing, home energy audits, and adopting renewable energy through the local electric utility or on the roof of your own home are ways we can reduce our community carbon footprint. 

Water is our most precious resource yet we take it for granted, especially in Texas where we are subject to frequent and reoccurring droughts. Local water systems also support important biodiversity. Installing rainwater catchment systems and low-flow fixtures, as well as permeable pavement, native plants, and rain gardens that don't require irrigation can reduce our water use, enable local infiltration, and protect habitat.

 Reducing consumption and waste is relevant to all our focus areas but is most visible in our material goods. We support all of the six R's: Refuse, Reduce, Re-purpose, Reuse, Repair and Recycle.  Adopting zero waste habits and connecting with utilizing local recycling systems can reduce the amount of waste that heads to the landfill.

All these focus areas come together in larger complex regional issues - such as sustainable land use, social equity, and climate change - that affect the way in which people live together and a community's collective impact on the natural world. We support intersectional environmentalism to solve the many pressing issues of our time that so desperately need attention.