Results tagged “environment”

Seeing as how this winter promises to be a wet one, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is offering big ol' barrels in which to catch precious rain water. San Francisco Sewers Blog reports, that as of this past Saturday, "San Francisco residents can purchase up to ten fully outfitted 60-gallon rain barrels at steep discounts, compliments of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC’s) Wastewater Enterprise."

Today the Department of Energy announced a pretty big windfall of funding "for 37 ambitious research projects," ones that involve energy sources such as wind and solar, something crazily awesome about bacteria being used to to "produce automotive fuel from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide," and more. In total, the Golden State received $20.8 million in new funding to help improve the environment. Which, of course, is necessary.

Do you miss those plastic bags that have been banished from San Francisco? Well, boo hoo! You might soon be getting a rebate for the bags you bring with you to the store! Attractive young Supervisor Ross "Boots" Mirkarimi introduced legislation today that would send paper bags packing after their forlorn plastic cousins require retailers to provide a rebate of ten cents to each customer for each bag the customer has brought and uses to carry out their purchases. The new legislation would affect the same grocery stores and pharmacies that have been forced to abandon plastic.

It's time to haul out those handy, dandy slop buckets, boys and girls. Starting tomorrow all residents and businesses in San Francisco will be required to start composting or face fines for improperly sorted garbage. Keep an eye open for the arrival of green bins alongside your blue and black bins in which you can dump "anything that used to be alive" along with coffee filters, greasy old pizza boxes, yard trimmings, and a plethora of other fine compostables that will be rotted down into "nutrient-rich soil that helps produce the organic food and wine that San Francisco is famous for." Blessed be!

Today, the Obama Administration announced plans to fork over $6-plus million to AC Transit of Hayward, "to help reduce global warming, lessen America’s dependence on oil and create green jobs." The funds come from the Economic Recovery Act, and will be yet another boon to the growing eco-industry in the Bay Area.

              

It was a hot day in San Francisco for hanging out on the street during the annual Park(ing) Day, which happens worldwide. Good thing there was plenty of foliage to soak up the CO2 in many of the spots, many of which were spotted downtown and in the Mission. It was duly noted that San Francisco has plenty of green spaces when you seek them out, but it's definitely refreshing to see a small oasis here and there in the middle of such urban settings.

by Chris Jones

PARTY: Green Zebra is celebrating the launch of their brand new Environmental Action Center and reMake Lounge. Learn about solar lease programs, composting, rainwater catchment, and other sustainable lifestyle techniques. There will also be opportunities to make your own green cleaning products, create an art piece from scrap materials, and learn to mend your clothes. The event features music, electric bike test rides, eco-friendly cocktails, local, organic snacks by Living Room Events, and raffle prizes.

MUSIC: Poppy folk band Fruit Bats are promoting their latest Sub Pop album The Ruminant Band with a free show at Amoeba this evening, and they're also at The Independent later tonight, along with Death Vessel and A B & the Sea.

Ciy Attorney Dennis Herrera just announced a agreement with Mirant to close the Potrero power plant by 2010, one of the city's last remaining large power plants. According to our sources, Mirant will pay around $1 million to the city of San Francisco for "pediatric asthma and neighborhood improvements." (Ed Harrington, Sophie Maxwell and Aaron Peskin are "all on hand to receive plaudits for this agreement.") What's more, Mirant power plant folk will have to pony up $100,000 to city attorney's office for legal fees and costs. (Dennis Herrera is just really not someone you want to screw with.) In addition to its polluting smokestack, SF Chron reports, "part of the 40-year-old plant runs under an expired permit allowing it to draw in millions of gallons of water per day and return heated discharge to the bay, killing fish larvae."

Ahem: @GavinNewsom "Just announced plan to build UN environmental center in SF to promote sustainable and clean technologies." Meanwhile, San Francisco is still poor.

A class of 17 juniors and seniors at the Urban School of San Francisco have brought environmental education into the 21st Century with their comprehensive eco-wiki, Greening San Francisco. Currently the site covers six main topics: Environmental justice, Waste reduction, Climate change, Reducing toxins, Alternative fuels, and Water use.

Current invited the public to submit and vote on questions for Mayor Gavin Newsom regarding his run for governor and his green platform. Six of the questions will be chosen alongside picks from editors at Treehugger, Grist, Huffington Post Green, Chelsea Green, and Good Magazine. The interview will be streamed live on Current at Noon tomorrow.

Because being a native San Franciscan isn't adorably dorky in and of itself, Mission Mission first broke news that Mission High School students held a "green prom" over the weekend, complete with environmentally-friendly trimmings.

You just can't top this one, Gavin Newsom. United Nations Environment Programme promises to plant a tree for every person who follows them on Twitter. Check it: "UNEPandYou: Remember, UNEP will plant one tree for every twitterer who follows @UNEPandYou by 5 June, World Environment Day. 3 days to go!" Gimmicky? Very. Legit? Um, let's hope. So far, as of 3:35 p.m., they have 4,446 followers. Might you be one more?

Anti-reduce, reuse, recycler-er Justin Clarke, AKA SF Libertarian Examiner, would like to tell you something. He would like to tell you that Newsom's alleged plan to criminalize not recycling stinks worse than Ayn Rand's rotting corpse. "Whether you think that recycling is valuable or not (I vote not)," Clarke muses, SFPD shouldn't force you to recycle in the same way "that the police shouldn’t be in charge of getting you to change your underwear." (Which, for argument's sake, they SHOULD be in charge of you changing your underwear. That, and not wearing flip flops, forbidding you to wear Drakkar Noir, and to demand you take regular showers. Really, there's no reason the barrel of a gun should not enforce these rules.)

Treehugger informed us of the breaking news that the EPA will be moving forward with plans to declare that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases are harmful to our health and to the climate. This will enable the EPA to act on the Supreme Court's 2007 ruling that the Clean Air Act can be used to curb carbon pollution from cars, power plants, and other industrial sources. "Fortunately, [the plan] follows President Obama’s call for a low carbon economy and strong leadership in Congress on clean energy and climate legislation,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “This pollution problem has a solution - one that will create millions of green jobs and end our country’s dependence on foreign oil.”

The Obama Administration made an exciting announcement today regarding Obama's vision for a new era of high-speed rail for U.S. travelers. Obama's Strategic Plan will rebuild existing rail infrastructure and develop a comprehensive high-speed intercity passenger rail network through a long-term commitment at both the federal and state levels. This plan draws from successful highway and aviation development models with a 21st century solution that focuses on clean, energy-efficient rail transportation.

As mentioned previously, SFEnvironment.org has a great list of additional resources. You an drop off your mattress for free at Raphael House (call ahead for times). BedBusters will come pick it up for a charge based on mattress size. Estates Mattress Company in Oakland will recycle single- and full-sized mattress drop-offs for $10 per mattress. Additionally, there is EcoHaul, but it sounds like you'd need a truck-full of items to make it worth the price (call/email for prices).

Instead of kicking your passé electronics to the curb, be kind and recycle them properly. (We can think of several such items we're currently hoarding in our closets.)

Millions across the globe are participating in Earth Hour tonight (and as we speak). For those who feel like being out and about tonight, here are some Earth Hour events going on in San Francisco.

In an effort to conserve energy, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu introduced legislation yesterday that "would prohibit downtown commercial buildings from leaving the lights on after hours," according to reports. If passed, Chiu's idea would "require commercial building owners to phase in the darkened skyline over one year," which would make San Francisco the only city in North America to shut off their office building lights at night to converse energy. If your recall, Aaron Peskin introduced similar legislation last year, which failed after the Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco gave it a thumbs down.

According to a new study in The New England Journal of Medicine, you're most likely to die of a respiratory illness in Riverside, California, and least likely in our very own SF. San Francisco comes in last place for concentrations of ground ozone among major cities, making it the safest place for avoiding lung disease. Efforts to curb ground ozone levels by the EPA have waned in recent years, and the new study shows exactly what impact location and corresponding ozone levels have had on the health of 400,000 individuals over the course of 25 years. The study also tracked levels of airborne particulate matter--pollutants most associated with deaths from heart disease or stroke.

Due to installing the "most solar systems per 1,000 citizens by any city in the Bay Area," the city of Berkeley has won a coveted the "City Solar Award" sponsored by NorCal Solar. Berkeley trampled Oakland (1.2 systems per 1,000 people), San Francisco (0.84), and San Jose (0.73). In addition to bragging rights, Berkley has also won the ire of PG&E. Congratulations, you crazy kids!

Concerned about your right to feel toasty, Duraflame has filed a lawsuit against the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for their 'Spare the Air' days, which bans the burning combustible materials (i.e., Duraflame logs) on days brimming with notably unhealthy air. The lawsuit claims that the air quality district failed to prove the region's need to limit the use of their logs. Duraflame spokesman Chris Caron said, "The district has failed to follow procedures to define why fire logs should be included in the solid fuel wood category with firewood, and nor did they make an adequate attempt to quantify the effectiveness of the new control measures." We can't imagine this lawsuit will help the company in any way whatsoever, other than making them look like a greedy and anti-green company. But there you have it. Eight 'Spare the Air' days have been called since the winter season started.

Oh wow. We need to get in on this racket. See, San Francisco International Airport plans on installing carbon-offset kiosks, so guilt-ridden travelers can donate to saving the Earth and stuff. It works like this: Travelers enter their flight info at the green kiosk, which figures out how many puppies and kittens will die as a result from the carbon dioxide emitted from their flight. A cost for offsetting your environment-crippling flight plans will then be deducted from your credit card, then sent to one of several carbon-reducing projects. While this sounds like an inspired idea, it could have corruption written all over it.

This Sunday afternoon, Eight Arms Cellars will celebrate the release of their first vintage, 2006 Eight Arms Syrah, at the beautiful Riva Cucina in Berkeley. The Eight Arms Syrah, which is handcrafted using sustainable practices, will be paired with local and seasonal foods prepared by Executive Chef, Massi Boldrini. The event is free and open to the public, kids welcome.

Do any SFisters out there have American Express cards? If so, use it this week at participating businesses -- or look for the pretty tree icon at right while out and about, and win our city a boat load of trees. Through October 31, each transaction counts as a vote in American Express' "Roots for the City" competition between eight U.S. cities. San Francisco still has a chance to beat out Los Angeles and Atlanta. We cannot let them win (even though maybe they need more trees than we do, since we are so superiorly green, or are we?)! Each city has already won $100,000 for their participation and tree planting projects, and the grand winner will win $300,000. The City and County of San Francisco's Trees for Tomorrow program plans to use the tree-planting grant to create a tree nursery, education and job-training program for at-risk youth that will establish trees to reforest a 20-block greenbelt on Sunset Boulevard.

Last Thursday evening at ACME Chophouse, managing chef Traci Des Jardins hosted a lovely holiday tasting party featuring delectable organic fowl and pork, organic/biodynamic wines, and a panel of speakers that included ACME's executive chef Thom Fox (pictured at left), Jim Reichardt of Sonoma County Poultry/The Heritage Turkey Project, Judie Geise of Marin Sun Farms, and Sam Mogannam of Bi-Rite Market. The panelists each discussed the growing pains of their sustainable businesses during a time when the terms "sustainable" and "green" weren't hip.

The Jenner Headlands -- that gorgeous, relatively untouched stretch of coastal land a few hours north of San Francisco, where "the Russian River meets a Pacific Ocean" -- is a breath away from being preserved in what's being called "the largest conservation acquisition in Sonoma County history."