This letter was sent to the Compostmodern team by Compostmodern 09 attendee Hilary Pittman:

Hi Gaby,

Just thought I would pass this along and feel free to share with others……This is what Compostmodern and various other events caused me to do—I sent the following email to a my local mayor Davis of Vallejo, et al. The subject of the email was “A New Vallejo.” I wanted to say thank you for having such a inspirational group of speakers that empowered me to act!

Sincerely,
Hilary Pittman
_____________________________________________________________________________

Hi Mayor Davis, Council, and Manager Tanner,

My name is Hilary Pittman and I’m a Vallejo resident. I’m emailing you this morning because I recently attended a sustainability conference in San Francisco called Compostmodern. It was at this conference that my passion for a sustainable future was once again ignited and now I’ve been called to act. Vallejo is a wonderful city that has tons of potential…Back in November I attended a planning meeting for the parking structure that is going to be built where the post office is on Georgia and Santa Clara. This was my first Vallejo City Hall meeting. I attended the meeting hoping to talk about community gardens, but instead talked about solar energy. I couldn’t believe that in the 21st century renewable, zero carbon energy was not part of the plan. Second, I didn’t understand why we were building a parking structure when there are plenty of parking spaces downtown. Third, right now downtown has a lack of businesses and traffic, so, why build a parking lot? Not to mention this is all part of a 3 phase building project that includes resdential and commerical space. So, why not include solar panels, wind power, gray water, etc? This is the type of building that attracts buyers. Here is a link to a place in Sonoma that can’t build fast enough and 3000 people are waiting to get ‘in’.

My issue goes beyond building sustainable structures for people with money. I envision every house and every building in Vallejo and the world with a solar panel(s). And, I think we should start with the low middle, working class and poor. By starting small and helping the people most in need we could create a snowball effect that rolls across the country. By allowing people to generate a fraction of their energy costs you are helping them off-set their finicial needs to other things like higher education or maybe starting their own business (which creates jobs). Also, building and installing solar panels creates a jobs. Thankfully, I just discovered that I’m not the only person that thinks this way. An organization in Oakland called Green For All has already proposed what I believe must happen in all cities and towns across America.

Mayor Davis, Council, and Manager Tanner I urge you to take the time to read and sign the petition so that Vallejo can set the example for the rest of the United States and the residents of Vallejo can be proud of where they live.

“Let’s do it now—together. There is no time to waste.” – Green For All

Sincerely,
Hilary Pittman