Where I Stand
by: Emily Moore
Agricultural, Food and Rural Affairs
Agricultural, Food and Rural Affairs include local grown foods, development and sustainability. I live in an old farmhouse with my family so primarily my biggest concern is development. More and more farmland is being developed every single day.
Development leads to a stem of other concerns also. The more development, the less farmland and the less locally grown food. Locally grown food is a necessity to both our economy and our environment. When farmers send food to other places they only receive a percentage of the cost of the food back, whereas when they sell food locally the receive the full value. Local food can help prevent global warming because it requires less transportation and less greenhouses. Leaving farmland to grow local foods is very important. My concern is that the development of land does not leave any farmland.
Transportation
As the city grows, the more the streets are crowded and the more traffic. This causes a lot more emissions from cars. My concerns are more gases and causes for global warming. This can be solved by more people taking city transit and carpooling. As well as more stringent emission standards for vehicles and alternate fuels for vehicles. like electric and hydrogen powered cars. Another concern is there is a lot more traffic and congestion within the city because of the increasing number of people.
Healthcare
My main concern is overbooking, the wait times for surgeries, wait times for regular appointments and the lack of enough doctors to go around. The wait time for surgeries are a huge concern because sometimes peoples health and lives are put in danger. I have experienced this first hand, as I required heart surgery but I had to wait for three months. Overbooking is also a concern because when I've been to the doctor I have sometimes had to wait an hour for my already scheduled appointment. Lack of doctors means that the doctors have to book hours ahead because they are taking on more patients than normal.