The Toward Zero Waste Cary, NC Facebook group had some questions for the candidates running for Town Council District D about our environment. Toward Zero Waste decided to meet with each candidate and get some responses for our members. Here is the interview we had with Beth Friedrich, candidate for Cary Town Council, District D.

Are you a climate denier?
No, absolutely not. I accept climate science and that our climate is changing.

Do you believe that humans are a contributing factor in climate change?
It is human caused. We are creating this.

Where do you believe Cary should be focusing its resources when it comes to climate change?
Working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or mitigation of climate change effects? Do I have to choose between the two? One of the things I’d like to focus on is planting more trees so we can absorb and cut more carbon. And I don’t mean Crepe Myrtles. They are cute but we need more hardwoods and that’s what we need to focus on, everywhere! Town of Cary should look at this and push down on developers and be able to work with our local citizens and making tree planting opportunities available more than just one day a year. It’s just a matter of the town putting it out there and creating opportunities. That’s mitigation. To reduce emissions, we need to push folks more to public transportation, I think that is one of the greatest ways that we can cut down on carbon emissions is getting people out of their fossil fuel driven cars. As far as incentivizing people toward electric cars, I think it is something that folks are learning to adopt and I think it will just become more common over time. As far as zero emission buses, in this region we are working on that, we are getting there. I am proud of the town’s efforts this far but we aren’t getting there fast enough and could be doing much more. The hesitancy can be frustrating.

Do you believe the city is doing enough to encourage citizens to move toward solar?
No, I don’t. May just need to make it a higher priority. Incentives for green energy for homes and businesses. Sympathetic retro fitting for older historic properties wanting to become more energy efficient. Some of the work I have seen done on older homes is encouraging for how other houses here in Cary could possibly adopt it. It is also a matter of looking at are there rebates or other ways that we could incentivize people to use this in their daily lives and also businesses. We have a lot of businesses that are interested in being greener and being good corporate citizens and being good community citizens. Durham is doing something interesting where they have partnered with an organization called Don’t Waste Durham which was looking to partner businesses with the City of Durham where the city would purchase green items in bulk which local business could then purchase and take down some of the cost. That is something I think that Town of Cary could look at as well. How can we help bring down those costs for green or greener items used by our businesses and have them utilize it and have them work together in a public/private partnership.

Do you support curbside composting as a public utility in Cary?
I think it is something that we should ask citizens about. Obviously it is another expense. Citizens really care about recycling so I think they may be interested in that. I think you educate on the reasons why it is important (landfill space, reduction of methane, carbon sequestration, end product commodity) and then put it out to the citizens. We might also want to see if we can do a pilot of this program in the Town, to see how it would work logistically and see the citizen response.

Would you support city architecture that includes green roofs?
Absolutely. That would be wonderful and beautiful.

The Wake County landfill is estimated to be at capacityin 2045, what is your plan for how to deal with Cary’s waste in the future?
We have to look at recycling. We need to have a regional recycling authority. It’s not going to happen unless Cary does it.

Do you believe in Cary’s water filtration methods are safe or if they need improvement what would you change?
I’m probably not as well versed in water filtration probably as the member posting the question. From what I have seen we could bear a little bit of work. There is always room for improvement. We’ve just had so much development in Cary which affects water, discharge, filtration, storm water, those types of issues. We need to put a bit more muscle behind how we manage our water in light of the tremendous of development that we’ve experienced.

What do you think about the use of Roundup(Glyphosate)and similar chemicals by the Town of Cary?
I don’t use it. I pull the weeds. I enjoy gardening and getting my hands in the dirt when I can. That is my preferred way, but there is no need to use roundup. There are great organic choices out there. But it is also a matter of educating people. I’ve seen people become more and more aware of avoiding Roundup and avoiding those types of chemicals, weed killers pesticides. People are starting to think about is this a cancer-causing agent, is this harmful to the environment? In my neighborhood, it has been a topic of discussion at our HOA. It’s something that people are mindful of and I’m glad to see that it is something that is permeating nationally now, unfortunately because of the cases that we are seeing with cancer. And also, we (my family) use a natural organic company to spray for mosquitos because we are mindful of whether we are going to kill off any bees if we go with something that is a pesticide and possibly harmful to the environment.

What are your thoughts about a curbside textile recycling program like Raleigh and Apex?
I think it is an exciting issue to explore. We have to educate people about why and put it out to them.

What are your thoughts on the recycling crisis and how do you see the Town of Cary dealing with its plastic problem?
Create a regional recycling authority sooner than later.Thoughts on a plastic bag fee?I think it would go over better than people think. I think it is better than a ban. I think we would want to hear from the residents of Cary. I believe they are anxious to do more in terms of limiting plastic bags, I see people carrying their own bags into stores all the time. Our citizens want to work with us on this.

Thoughts about the EAB’s tree and carbon recommendations?
Supportive of the EAB’s recommendations on both. I’ve met with the founder of Keep the Canopy. I’d support it with the idea of open space and green space. Land banking. We need to look at redevelopment. Cary Town Center is a good example. When they go in, we need to look at using different soil technologies, at using those soils that allow for greater absorption, having some trees in there with deeper root balls and deeper root systems that are able to absorb water and are able to withstand some of the rains we have had recently which are caused by climate change. These sudden, rapid bursts of torrential rains that are creating, in some cases, flooding situations. If we’re looking at different soils those will be able to absorb water better. Also if we look at streams or other natural water sources, I’ve seen this done in the town of Wilmington where they created a marsh mix with the soils to help with the absorption of greater rails fall and fooding. What developers have been doing is compacting the soils, cutting off all the nutrients. A great example of where they are doing better is Moore Square which was just reopened, they used different soil technologies, and I think that is something we need to replicate here in the Town of Cary. It could be in the development plan, something we require, literally starting from the ground up. For the carbon recommendations, by managing traffic. Public transportation especially given light rail being put off for at least another 10 years. Bus rapid transit will have a positive impact. I take public transportation and it’s wonderful. It means I cut down on carbon emissions, cut down on gas, I can work while I am going back and forth. Right now the problem is the frequency, my bus doesn’t run between Cary and downtown Raleigh between 10am-6pm. If my daughter gets sick, how I am going to pick her up if the bus doesn’t run from 10-6? Some of our Cary busses are empty and that’s a shame. Bus Rapid transit will change the quality of transportation and encourage more people to take it. Also having electric charging stations available for those choosing electric. We have to build the infrastructure for it. I think the appetite is there and that is something that the Sierra Club zeroed in on. Particularly we need them in the context of mixed use development. Cary is a smart city, and we are becoming smarter. And that is definitely a part of how we go about doing that. We will want to look at rebates. And in terms of developing the infrastructure what are the best practices we should be following. Cities like Austin have an adopted a mindset of energy efficiency and I often look to them if I am thinking about concepts of zero waste and how to set up a more energy efficient system. Around here charging stations are not as common as they need to be for people to be willing to adopt it but I have faith that Cary is right there on it.

Do you support the bond referendum?
I do, I support both of them. I would give this caveat. Downtown has one of the last little bits of green space available where they want to build the second phase of the Downtown Park and I just really feel a little heartsick when I think of them pouring concrete all over it. I like a good open fire pit and dog park and all that. Once it is gone it is going to change the look and feel of the downtown. It is just going to create a hole in what I feel is the heart of downtown Cary. Maybe the environment could be built into it.

How would you deal with being a Dillon Rule state?
The General Assembly yields their authority pretty broadly. I think that you can work with them when it comes to an issue that is intensely personal and local to that municipality. Conversations should be ongoing about issues that are important to us. There is a list of priorities for the Town that we should be discussing with the general assembly every time session comes up. Dillon’s Rule is really something you have to learn to work within. Southern states tend to be pretty controlling with local units of government. Many of the folks in the general assembly came from local government and are sensitive to those types of issues. Those people need to be your champions and advocates. Citizens need to get active as well. If citizens are not contacting local officials, they don’t know what matters to them.

Where is the environment on your list of priorities?
Public safety is my first priority, but in terms of public safety, we are one of the safest communities in the United States. I’d put environment right after that.

How do you deal with climate deniers on the town council?
I’ve met climate deniers and I’ve worked with them in the past, and I think part of the key for that is just education. One of the easiest ways to educate people and the one thing that I have seen have the most success is the recent floods we’ve had here in NC. I’ve been involved in efforts to recover, through my work, and having that impact not just with Hurricane Mathew but follow up with Florence, that did a lot to make people stop and think, are we affecting our environment if we are having two 500 year floods back to back? So I think the best way to deal with folks is just putting it in front of them and giving them an opportunity to expand their world view.

I want to add that when people come here to Cary they are coming here for a quality of life, part of that is greenways, tree canopy, and everything that this offers. If we lose that, we are losing part of what makes people want to be here in the first place.