Erica Reder is a native San Franciscan. In addition to covering the environment beat at SF Public Press, she reports for Bay Nature Magazine and KPFA Radio. She holds a B.A. in history from Yale University. This story was originally published at sfpublicpress.org.
Washington, D.C., has one. Seoul has one. Bristol, Tokyo, and Turin have one. And now, finally, the Bay Area has one. The first annual San Francisco Green Film Festival will take place from March 3-6, joining a growing number of environmentally focused film festivals throughout the world.
Things are looking up for the steelhead trout of Alameda Creek. A revised plan to replace the Calaveras Dam includes several features that will benefit the federally threatened fish. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) approved the project on January 27, 2011, ending years of discussion with conservation groups and federal agencies.
Environmental action often hinges on what not to do at home: don't leave lights on, don't bring home plastic bags, don't use pesticides. But what about actively creating a wildlife habitat right outside your backdoor? San Franciscans will soon have help doing just that, from the nonprofit Nature in the City, which will offer backyard habitat services.
Two weeks ago, Los Angeles supervisors voted to ban retailers from distributing single-use plastic bags in unincorporated parts of the county. Then on November 29, the governor argued for a statewide ban of plastic bags at a Sacramento press conference. Now San Jose becomes the nation's largest city to ban plastic bags.
Last year, City Slicker Farms grew and distributed almost 7,000 pounds of pay-what-you-can produce in West Oakland. That number may double in coming years, thanks to a $4 million grant the nonprofit won last week. City Slicker Farms will use the money purchase and develop a 1.4-acre neighborhood farm and park.
The arrival of the rains each fall kicks off spawning season for coho salmon. The rains also mark the end of this season's work on the Redwood Creek Restoration Project. On November 14, you can help welcome the salmon back to an improved watershed, and kick in a little on the restoration too!
Independent, nonprofit environmental journalism connecting people with nature in the San Francisco Bay Area.
