I wrote a letter to my Mayor and my City Council this evening with a little push from wecansolveit.org. You are welcome and encouraged to use it as a guide for your own letter. With huge national and global issues, we can't forget that real solutions start locally from the ground up.
Dear Mayor Godbey and City Council,
I am a resident of Mauldin along with my wife and our three children. Our children attend Mauldin's public schools and we enjoy living here. I am writing you because I would like to see Mauldin begin to lead the way in combating the climate crisis. Mauldin could be a beacon and set the example, not just for the Upstate, but for the entire state of South Carolina.
We could start by promoting sustainable living by expanding our recycling program to make it accessible to everyone. We could make recycle bins an option for all Mauldin residents and expand our pick up by extending it into our apartment complexes. We could also increase the type and amount of items that can be recycled.
For new Mauldin construction projects we could use green building techniques. One suggestion could be to require all public buildings to use compact fluorescent lightbulbs and energy efficient appliances.
I've been riding my bicycle to work a couple of times a week and we could encourage other residents to ride more as well. Short bicycle trips are great exercise and it saves gas. We could start by adding more bike lanes and some convenient bicycle parking.
If Mauldin becomes an enviornmental leader for the state and becomes known as the "Green" city of the south, current residents will have something wonderful and exciting to be proud of and it will attract new residents who are concerned about the climate crisis and want to spend money in a city that is taking action.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I am looking forward to following your leadership in combating the climate crisis.
Sincerely,