Read more of this story »

Experts estimate that the four largest clean-energy industries (solar, wind, biofuels, and fuel-cell) will have combined annual revenues of $255 billion by the middle of the next decade. The question isn’t whether the world will move towards cleaner living – the question is how soon this trend will take hold.

There is no better, more fertile place in the United States for green technology and green-collar jobs to take shape than California.

California’s challenge is competitiveness, grasping as much of the share of these markets as possible by being the industry leader in greenhouse gas abatement technology. To date, we’ve done a great job – California captured $6.6 billion in green capital between 2006-2008. And all these start-ups need workers; so green jobs have the potential to be for California what the defense industry was in 1980s.

Read more of this story »

In the quest to create new green jobs, we have the opportunity to take existing jobs and make them green.

Every city has architects, engineers and construction divisions. In conventional circumstances the activities these employees undertake can burn considerable natural resources. But in San Francisco, we’re working to turn these traditional municipal positions into environmental champions.

Read more of this story »

The program is based on the Berkeley First program which allows homeowners to pay for solar installations through a 20-year assessment on their property taxes.

Newsom says “We’re going to adopt Berkeley’s program … but take it to a whole ’nother level.”

He’s not kidding: Berkeley’s was $1.5 Million (and sold out in the first nine minutes)

San Francisco’s program will be $30 million!

Read more of this story »

Last month, we launched our first iPhone app based on a city feed to help San Franciscans recycle 75 percent of the materials that would otherwise go to the landfill by 2010. Today, we are kicking off a new online effort (www.RecyclingMoments.org) to get us over this green goal line and help our city save resources, energy, and reduce pollution.

In San Francisco, we have led the country in creating ambitious yet achievable programs to help residents and businesses decrease the amount of waste going into our landfill. Our modern curbside program began back in the 80s with the crazy idea that people could recycle their newspapers.

Read more of this story »

As Congress debates how to pay for national health care reform, here in California we are showing there are ways to make coverage both universal and affordable.

In San Francisco, we are finding that one of the most effective reforms, and the most affordable by far, is simply using the purchasing and persuasive power of our city to promote the kind of healthy habits that keep residents away from costly medical interventions and prevent chronic diseases.

Read more of this story »

Unless you were sleeping, you should know that last week, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom challenged Portland Mayor Sam Adams to the Great Electric Vehicle Race. It took no time for Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels to get into the game. So it comes as no surprise that on Saturday, July 13th, Gavin had Tesla founder, Elon Musk as a guest on his show.

California based Tesla produces the only highway legal electric vehicle on the road. Last month, Tesla secured $465 million in federal low interest loans through the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the administration’s plan to have one million plug-in electric cars on the road by 2015.

Read more of this story »

This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

Hopes for an accelerated recovery during the second half of 2009 were diminished this week as most of the economic headlines turned negative after several months of encouraging signs. Job losses exceeded economists’ expectations, with the nation’s unemployment rate now standing at a new 26-year high. More on this story here.

Obama Administration Readies $3 Billion for Renewable Energy. The $3 billion in grants are designed to temporarily replace the production tax credit that has been a critical factor in the growth of renewable energy capacity in U.S. More on this story here.

Just months after the swine flu pandemic panicked the world, varying strains of the Ebola virus have been discovered in pigs, and they may be jumping between swine and humans effortlessly. More on this story here.

San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom passed into law an ordinance that requires all residential and commercial building owners sign up for recycling and composting services.  More on this story here.

There has been some controversy this week over whether global warming is an actual phenomenon or whether it is simply propaganda pushed by the liberal media. On Wednesday, Fox hosted Alan Carlin, a “legendary” EPA official and co-author of an internal document disproving global warming. The document was subsequently “suppressed,” by the EPA. More on this story here.

Have you heard of the “agritainment industry?” According to the Economist, it has taken off with a bang. The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) says that a tenth of farms have diversified into a variety of sports and recreation activities to supplement their earnings. A growing “agritainment” sector includes bed-and-breakfast accommodation, wedding venues and shooting ranges (both real and paintball). 

Our focus on green industries has reaped benefits for our local economy. We have the eighth-lowest unemployment rate in California. New cleantech companies are opening their doors week after week.

We accomplished this growth by ensuring that our city offered an affordable business climate and the best-trained workforce in America. Much as we did in San Francisco, we need development policies that co-equally concentrate on growing business and developing the workforce.

California should explore the feasibility of two-year payroll tax exemptions for new hires in cleantech, modeled after the state’s existing hiring credits – instead of targeting groups of workers or areas, we’ll focus on hiring into industries. We need pointed business-attraction strategies to aid in the formation of cleantech clusters. Let’s be aggressive in pursuing green industry startups and companies looking to relocate.

On the jobs side, our state needs cutting-edge workforce development programs, including clean-industry apprenticeships, job-placement assistance, tuition subsidies, and state policies to encourage growth in green industries.

I’m excited about the potential of the emerging green economy for California, both in economic growth through venture capital and entrepreneurship as well as the vast number of jobs we stand to create. I believe our fundamental and stark difference of opinion on AB32 merits a discussion in a public forum, so today I am inviting candidate Whitman to participate in this debate. I encourage her to accept so the voters of California can get a clear view of our positions on this vital issue.

At this critical juncture, we need leadership that’ll drive economic growth through green-collar industry development, not tired old jobs vs. the environment rhetoric that ignores the vast growth potential of cleantech in California. I look forward to pursue an ambitious green collar jobs strategy for the state, just as we’ve managed to successfully do in the City and County of San Francisco.

More from Mayor Gavin Newsom:

• Local Green Jobs Rise as SF Solar and Energy Efficiency Incentive Programs Expand
• San Francisco Signs Nation’s First Mandatory Composting Law
• Wave Energy to Bring Power and Jobs to San Francisco
• Recycling Our Way to a More Sustainable Future

Photo Credit: Peter Kaminski via Flickr under Creative Commons License

Continuing in that vein, Mayor Newsom yesterday issued an Executive Directive outlining San Francisco’s first comprehensive regional food policy. The press release reads:

“The stark reality is that hunger, food insecurity, and poor nutrition are pressing health issues, even in a city as rich and vibrant as San Francisco,” said Mayor Newsom. “From the alleviation of hunger, to the need to support local and sustainable agricultural practices, these recommendations form a comprehensive and strategic approach to addressing pressing needs in all sectors of the food system.”

In making the announcement, Newsom was joined by California Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura, representatives of the United State Department of Agriculture, Bay Area farmers, and members of local food advocacy groups such as Roots of Change at West Oakland Woods Farm, one of the several community urban gardens run by City Slicker Farms.

Read more of this story »

Hi, I’m Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco, and I’d like to welcome you to the electric vehicle challenge being hosted by Gas 2.0.

Our city has long been at the forefront of sustainability, and we now turn our focus to one of our biggest challenges: transportation.

I believe that the future is electric, and as Mayor I hope to make San Francisco the epicenter of electric vehicle technology. To that end, we have already established a 9-point policy plan for electric vehicle infrastructure, though our efforts to advance electric vehicles are not limited to San Francisco.

We’ve engaged the entire Bay Area, a region of 7.3 million people, to make our region the cornerstone of the coming market for EVs. Not just governments, but key companies, business associations, policy advocates, and international car and EV infrastructure companies are all working together to make the San Francisco Bay Area the EV Capital of the U.S.

Read more of this story »

San Francisco, CA - They’re everywhere. On the streets, in gutters; even collecting in pools of water. Little orange and white rolls of paper and tobacco. Cigarettes. Once used, these unfriendly remains haunt our down towns and our backyards. But it’s time to say goodbye to the orange and white…in San Francisco at least. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee unanimously supported a measure that will help get rid of the stubs of used cigarettes.

The measure would increase the price of cigarettes by $0.20 per pack. The hike in price isn’t simply to discourage the purchase of cigarettes, but to help mitigate the costs of cigarette clean-up, relying on those who use cigarettes to help clean up.

Studies done by the city show that 25% of all litter found on sidewalks and in gutters is cigarette related. The $0.20 per pack of cigarettes would be reported and remitted on a regular basis by the retailers who collect the money at the counter. The funds would then be dispersed by the city  for use in litter collection.

“All litter creates unnecessary costs for the city and its taxpayers,” said Mayor Newsom. “Cigarette butts are a big part of the problem.” Newsom, who commended the Board for their support of the fee on Monday, June 29, included this fee as a line item in his June 1 budget and introduced this legislation to enact a regulatory fee to recover these costs from the consumers of cigarettes.

Not only are cigarette butts eyesores, but they are harmful to the environment as well. ”Cigarette butts contain benzene and toxic heavy metals that can poison the marine environment and leach into groundwater,” said Newsom.

According to Newsom, researchers at San Diego State University have found that chemicals found in just one filtered cigarette butt can kill all living fish in a one liter bucket of water.

While the fee looked strong in its first reading on Monday, it could still be stomped out by the complete Board next week at its decisive vote.

Photo Credit: fragglerawker_03 via flickr under Creative Commons License
Our focus on green industries has reaped benefits for our local economy. We have the eighth-lowest unemployment rate in California. New cleantech companies are opening their doors week after week.

We accomplished this growth by ensuring that our city offered an affordable business climate and the best-trained workforce in America. Much as we did in San Francisco, we need development policies that co-equally concentrate on growing business and developing the workforce.

California should explore the feasibility of two-year payroll tax exemptions for new hires in cleantech, modeled after the state’s existing hiring credits – instead of targeting groups of workers or areas, we’ll focus on hiring into industries. We need pointed business-attraction strategies to aid in the formation of cleantech clusters. Let’s be aggressive in pursuing green industry startups and companies looking to relocate.

On the jobs side, our state needs cutting-edge workforce development programs, including clean-industry apprenticeships, job-placement assistance, tuition subsidies, and state policies to encourage growth in green industries.

I’m excited about the potential of the emerging green economy for California, both in economic growth through venture capital and entrepreneurship as well as the vast number of jobs we stand to create. I believe our fundamental and stark difference of opinion on AB32 merits a discussion in a public forum, so today I am inviting candidate Whitman to participate in this debate. I encourage her to accept so the voters of California can get a clear view of our positions on this vital issue.

At this critical juncture, we need leadership that’ll drive economic growth through green-collar industry development, not tired old jobs vs. the environment rhetoric that ignores the vast growth potential of cleantech in California. I look forward to pursue an ambitious green collar jobs strategy for the state, just as we’ve managed to successfully do in the City and County of San Francisco.

More from Mayor Gavin Newsom:

• Local Green Jobs Rise as SF Solar and Energy Efficiency Incentive Programs Expand
• San Francisco Signs Nation’s First Mandatory Composting Law
• Wave Energy to Bring Power and Jobs to San Francisco
• Recycling Our Way to a More Sustainable Future

Photo Credit: Peter Kaminski via Flickr under Creative Commons License

Composting will prevent tons of material from going to the landfill, create healthy soil for our local farms and help us fight global warming.

Today at the Farmer’s Market in front of San Francisco’s iconic Ferry Building I am signing the nation’s first mandatory composting law. It’s the most comprehensive recycling and composting legislation in the country and the first to require residents and businesses to compost food scraps.

Read more of this story »

San Francisco created the “EcoFinder” iPhone App to help residents recycle and dispose of materials.  The open data philosophy behind the app is Government 2.0 at work.

With the release today of San Francisco’s first iPhone app based on a City data feed, recycling just got much easier for our residents.

San Franciscans already lead the nation in recycling – in May we announced a 72% diversion rate of all materials going to the landfill – but we want to do more. Last week we passed the nation’s first mandatory recycling and composting laws. We’ve pledged to recycle 75% of the materials that would otherwise go to the landfill by 2010 and zero waste by 2020.

We will only reach these lofty goals together — with the help of all our residents. That’s why the City’s environment department (@SFEnvironment) has launched an iPhone version of the popular web-based EcoFinder tool.

Read more of this story »

Read more of this story »

San Francisco’s new solar-powered bus stops may not make the bus come any faster, but they will at least make the wait a bit more pleasant. The first solar-powered shelter, unveiled last week, contains photovoltaic cells on its roof that power LEDs for night-time vision. Excess power is sent back to the grid.

Read more of this story »

Why the surprise? Well, in my somewhat narrow world, the two cities I always hear about that are leading the way in developing electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure are San Francisco and Portland. And wouldn’t you know it, the mayors, Gavin Newsom, San Francisco, and Sam Adam, Portland, of these two fine towns have been engaging in a verbal repartee on this very site.

Read more of this story »

When talking about the technologies that will lead us into a new transportation paradigm, I feel like I’m driving down a winding road full of potholes and missing the shoulders. What technology is best? Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs)? Flex-Fuel Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles? Plug-In Electric Vehicles (PEVs) or maybe cars that run on compressed natural gas or hydrogen fuel cells?  I’m not a waging person so I won’t place my bets but I am willing to “collect the money” from those who want to gamble on the winner.

Read more of this story »

Editor’s note: This post is a contribution by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. See his last post on electric vehicle charging infrastructure or all of his previous posts here. A companion piece was also posted on RedGreenandBlue.org earlier today.

San Francisco is a city that knows how to recycle. We work hard to give new life to our paper, bottles, cans and other waste.

New statistics released today show we are keeping 72 percent of all discards from going to the landfill – up from 70 percent the year before.

That’s a big leap for one year. The most significant gains came from the recycling of material from building sites – due in large part to our 2006 mandatory Construction and Demolition Debris Recovery Ordinance.

By requiring builders to recycle debris from construction projects, we were able to divert tens of thousands of new tons of material away from the landfill. This ordinance is unique in that it doesn’t require deposits or bonds, making it small business-friendly and limiting the amount of bureaucracy needed to implement the program.

When it comes to our recycling programs, we’re always in the development phase. In order to meet our ambitious goal of 75 percent recycling by 2010 and zero waste by 2020, we are constantly looking for additional materials to recycle, and for emerging markets to make use of our recyclables.

• » See Also: Consumer solar energy aggregation project launched in San Diego
• » Get CleanTechnica by RSS or sign up by email.

Read more of this story »

Editor’s Note: See Mayor Gavin Newsom’s post on this announcement at CleanTechnica.com.

San Francisco is well on its way to reaching the lofty goal of a 75% recycling rate by 2010. Today Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office announced that the city has attained the title of US recycling king by keeping 72% of ALL recyclable material out of landfills.

>>See also San Francisco OK’s California’s Largest Municipal Solar Plant

And we’re not talking simply cans and bottles here either; in 2006 Mayor Newsom instituted a Mandatory Construction and Demolition Debris Recovery Ordinance, which means that 72% number includes all waste generated on construction sites too.

“By requiring builders to recycle debris from construction projects, we were able to divert tens of thousands of new tons of material away from the landfill,” said Mayor Gavin Newsom. “Clearly, mandatory recycling measures pay off; if we’re going to reach a recycling rate of 75 percent in 2010 and zero waste by 2020, we need to make sure that residents and businesses are taking full advantage of our composting and recycling programs.”

The San Francisco Department of the Environment said that in 2007 the city generated 2,100,943 tons of waste, of which only 617,833 tons went to landfills. This represents the city’s lowest tonnage sent to landfills in over 30 years.

Although 72% is an impressive number, the city sees an opportunity to go even higher.

“If we captured everything going to landfill that could have been recycled or composted, we’d have a 90% recycling rate” said San Franciso Department of the Environment Director Jared Blumenfeld. “The Board of Supervisors will soon be considering an ordinance that will require residents and businesses to sign up and use the recycling and composting programs, which we need to make our goals.”

Image Credit: Rick’s Flickr photostream under a Creative Commons License.

A seventy-two percent diversion rate from the landfill is something to be proud of, and I congratulate every San Francisco resident, business, and visitor who helped us along the way. But we can’t rest on our laurels, not when there are so many valuable resources still going to the dump.

We recently conducted a waste stream analysis and discovered that about two thirds of the stuff people throw away—half a million tons each year—could have been recycled or turned to compost. If were able to capture everything, we would have a recycling rate of 90 percent.

That’s why I’ve introduced an ordinance that will make it mandatory for everyone —homeowners, businesses, or renters — to use our recycling and composting programs. If we can get food scrap collection service into large apartment buildings that currently don’t have it, we’re going to see another great year for recycling.

On a final note, the flip side to how much you recycle is how little you send to the landfill. Our disposal tonnage is the lowest it’s been in over 30 years. Our recycling programs can and have been implemented in cities around the world. For more info on our recycling programs please visit - http://www.sfenvironment.org/.

See also: Our series from the CEO’s of Major Solar Companies. Latest Post: Beyond Subsidized Solar Power: The Path to Grid Parity

Listen to Mayor Newsom’s Green 960 radio show online or subscribe to his weekly policy discussions on iTunes. Join Mayor Newsom on Facebook. You can also follow him on Twitter @GavinNewsom.

Image Credits: 1) TheGarbagePit 2) Mayor’s Office

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s plan to create one of state’s largest solar photovoltaic plants was approved by the city’s Board of Supervisors.

San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors Tuesday passed a proposal giving clearance to Recurrent Energy to Construct a 5 megawatt solar photovoltaic plant and sell energy to the city at a cost of about $2 million annually. The new plant, to be built in the city’s Sunset District, will be the largest municipal solar power project in California.

Read more of this story »