Heavy construction. Massive crowds. Congested waterways. Based on the city’s recently released draft environment impact report (EIR) for the 2013 America’s Cup, these threats, along with others, are an unavoidable addition to the international event. Local environmental groups are split over the city’s proposed plans to tackle the problems. “I’m optimistic about the report,”...
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They’re the little guys. Small, silver, nondescript fish that are so hard to tell apart that many people simply call them “baitfish.” But though they don’t command the attention of a breaching humpback whale or trophy tuna, these humble creatures known as forage species–from...
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In an effort to boost the city’s solar energy use, San Francisco officials launched a pioneering program today keying in on a simple model: group discounts. “[email protected]”, developed by the city’s Department of the Environment and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, encourages commercial business...
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Arborist Chris Altman recently had a job to remove a beautiful 15-year-old ash tree from its sidewalk-bound home. The tree appeared healthy at first glance, but it had lacked...
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The endangered leatherback sea turtle enjoyed a huge conservation victory this week. The hulking, jellyfish-eating reptile will be protected in ocean waters off the coasts of California, Oregon and...
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The Bay Area is charging up. Along with L.A. and New York, San Francisco is one of the largest U.S. markets for plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). The pledge by...
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Public debate about the plight of protected species on a San Francisco-owned golf course in Pacifica has refocused attention on the city’s commitment to safeguarding natural diversity.
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Over 50 whale carcasses struck by ships have been discovered along the California coast in the past decade, including at least six last year and a humpback found on...
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For 35 years Janet Kessler has lived in San Francisco and been an avid early morning walker, exploring the city’s parks with her dogs and observing the busy transition...
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has extended to June 10 the deadline for accepting public comments on a controversial proposal to eradicate nonnative house mice on the Southeast...
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Redwood City residents oppose a plan to build a massive development on a stretch of salt ponds beside the San Francisco Bay by a 2-1 ratio, according to new...
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A year after the dissolution of the Restoration Advisory Board for Hunters Point Shipyard, the Navy says it will introduce a new community involvement plan that emphasizes diversity. The announcement...
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Ocean Beach is one of San Francisco’s most uncertain recreational spots, its permanence in question as shifting sands and sea level rise threaten to change its dimensions, and even...
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California’s landmark climate change law survived a dirty battle at the polls last fall when oil industry groups tried to take it down in a ballot initiative. But now...
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San Francisco sidewalk gardens are suddenly the buzz around town, but not quite in the way the city had hoped. Last Saturday the city kicked off a series of free...
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A proposed ban on the sale, possession and distribution of shark fins in California has been introduced by Assemblymen Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), much to...
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The movie “Jaws” created the notion of sharks as powerful eating machines who stalk humans. Yet ironically, in the 35 years since that movie debuted, it’s sharks that have...
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San Francisco is hoping to sway building owners to reduce their energy footprint with the power of knowledge. City officials signed into law on Friday a new requirement that...
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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...
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The America’s Cup races are two years away, but San Francisco is already bracing for the massive crowds and construction that will accompany the international sailing competition. Among the...
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You drive by it often. You can see it from any high vantage point. And yet many people living in the Bay Area know very little about San Bruno...
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Environmental groups have filed suit against the city of San Francisco under claims it’s violating the Endangered Species Act at Sharp Park Golf Course. The groups say that San...
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It just got a little harder for motorists to navigate around Market Street downtown. And local transportation officials say that’s an improvement. A pilot program that forces cars heading...
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After repeated pressure from groups protesting the rollout of smart meters in Northern California, the California Public Utilities Commission announced Thursday that it will allow PG&E customers to opt-out...
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The northern elephant seal mating season in Ano Nuevo State Park has come to a close, but young pups will linger through March. If you missed this year's raucous,...
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Federal and state officials have been staunchly insistent that radioactive fallout from Japan’s nuclear reactor crisis will not reach California and the rest of the West Coast. But there’s been...
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California health and emergency officials said a “plume” of radiation coming from the Japanese nuclear crisis that’s expected to hit the West Coast as early as tomorrow will bring...
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As the public searches for answers about radiation from Japan’s growing nuclear crisis reaching the United States, they are turning to the Environmental Protection Agency’s RadNet Central Data Exchange,...
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A Muni light-rail vehicle was struck by a big rig Monday morning, injuring six people, according to San Francisco Fire Department spokeswoman Lieutenant Mindy Talmadge, in an incident that...
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday that trace amounts of radiation from Japanese nuclear reactors continue to be found in West Coast monitors. Results from RadNet filters...
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PG&E has proposed charging residential customers to opt out of having wireless transmission of electric meters turned off at their homes. The proposal announced Thursday would allow the utility...
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EDITORIAL – It’s like the Oscars for the Patagonia set. Every April, just before Earth Day, San Francisco’s environmental community comes together at the city’s Opera House to laud...
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Way Out West will be offline for the next week. We’re taking a little break for some journalism training through a California Endowment Health Reporting Fellowship that we received...
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The long-awaited list of the California state parks slated for closure, due to a $33 million budget shortfall through the 2013 fiscal year, was finally released last Friday. Officials...
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A Marin scientist has started the Great Sunflower Project using flowers to show where wild bees are best and worst off.
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