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Creating Change
Creating Change
We have worked to provide you, our members, with tools you can use to create change in your own community. Learn ways people have worked to change policies about edible landscapes within city limits, talk with planning and building supervisors to reduce fees associated with installing renewable energy sources, and work towards legalizing grey-water systems within your county.
The first time I met with our county supervisor of building and planning regarding composting toilets, natural building and grey-water systems being permitted in San Mateo County, I came prepared with books, research, articles and a good sales pitch. I sat with her in a meeting room, surrounded by cubicles of county employees. She sat with us for hours, milling over the books and articles and hearing our stories about how important it is for our county to embrace regenerative-living technologies. After we had spent a considerable amount of time with her, she remarked to us that we were the first ones who had brought any of this to her attention. She asked us for book lists so she could develop a library of natural building in the county office. She directed us on whom to talk with regarding compost toilets. Overall, she was quite surprised that no one had ever brought these things to her attention and was very open to working with us on making these technologies a reality for San Mateo County.
Since that first meeting, I became inspired to seek permitting for regenerative technologies in our county that have never before been permitted. It is not an easy task and requires a lot of persistence, research and some funding, but so far, we have succeeded in everything we set our sights on. Here is some documentation about creating change. We hope this inspires you to meet with your government officials to push the envelope of what will be accepted in your area.
Submit your stories about creating change in your own community and you may be featured on EarthActionMentor.org as a change maker! Submit stories to doinga@earthactionmentor.org.
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