Posted inBay Area, Environment, Labor

Bay Area Ferry Electrification Will Also Be Jobs Program for Local Latinos

On a recent morning on San Francisco’s Pier 9, New Zealand’s prime minister and other officials finalized plans to electrify Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry’s fleet.

The project, part of a statewide push to satisfy green-energy mandates, will create jobs for Latino San Rafael residents who might otherwise struggle to break into the green-energy field.

Posted inBay Area, Environment, Housing

In the Name of Eelgrass

We bring you this story from Bay Nature, a newsroom covering the environment:

In the Richardson Bay, between Sausalito and Tiburon, anchors from the people who live on their boats are threatening vital eelgrass habitat. Even though an alternative anchor technology could prevent the damage, authorities are telling the residents to leave, potentially putting some at risk of homelessness.

Posted inAging, Climate Change, Environment, Health, Social Services

Protecting Chinatown’s Older Adults From Climate Disasters Requires More Funding, Nonprofits Say

Community organizations say the systems in Chinatown to protect older populations during extreme weather are not enough to meet the needs that could arise. Without sufficient financial backing, the health of many older residents in the neighborhood could be threatened during extreme weather disasters. Similar scenarios could transpire in San Francisco’s other climate-vulnerable areas.

Posted inAging, Climate Change, Environment, Health

Brightline Defense Takes on San Francisco’s Air Pollution and Environmental Justice Concerns: Q&A With Executive Director Eddie Ahn

As climate change exacerbates droughts, wildfires, floods, storms and other catastrophes, community organizations in the city are racing to put systems in place to both measure its impacts on residents and to provide the tools they need to support themselves during disasters.

Posted in“Civic” Podcast, California, Environment, History, Land use, Parks & Open Space, Social Justice

John Muir, Racial Politics and the Restoration of Indigenous Lands in Yosemite

John Muir has been honored extensively, with his name on many sites and institutions, including 28 schools, a college, a number of mountains, several trails, a glacier, a forest, a beach, a medical center, a highway and Muir Woods National Monument, one of the most visited destinations in the Bay Area. But in the time since the Sierra Club issued a nuanced statement in 2020 acknowledging some racist language in his early writings, some have come to believe that Muir’s legacy should be diminished, despite his contributions to the preservation of wilderness and later writings praising native tribes. 

Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Climate Change, Environment, Utilities

Growing Bay Area Need Not Use More Water, Report Says

The Bay Area can house millions more people without increasing its water use, according to a new report from the urbanist and water-use think tanks SPUR and the Pacific Institute. This could be done by continuing to improve water conservation efforts while concentrating on developing infill housing to prevent urban sprawl.  

Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Climate Change, Environment

Bay Area Organizers Take Climate, Indigenous Rights Advocacy to Global Summit

Thousands of delegates from around the world will meet next week in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss their nations’ commitments to addressing the climate crisis at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Among those attending will be local organizers from the NDN Collective, an indigenous-led and -staffed organization.

Gift this article