San Francisco Building Efficiency Programs San Francisco leads the state in many of its energy efficiency programs, including Energy Watch, GreenFinanceSF, the stimulus-funded SF Home Improvement Program, and the Commercial Boiler Retrofit program. These programs cover both residential and commercial sectors, and they target single and multifamily homes along with large and small businesses. Utility …
Home >> Resources >> Solutions >> Water Water Distribution Summary: The energy source of electricity used to operate a public water supply system determines its climate impact (Drawdown). Is your local electricity generated from fossil fuels, nuclear, or renewable energy sources? Many water agencies are building their own renewable energy sources so that they can …
Home >> Resources >> Solutions >> Transportation Electric Vehicles Background: Transportation is responsible for 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Drawdown), but is often a larger percentage of local emissions. If electricity generation in your area is making good progress with Energy Conversion – using renewables and no coal, then it is time to promote …
Home >> Resources >> Solutions >> Transportation Public Transit Summary: Public transit, or mass transit, is an equitable, energy-efficient way of moving large numbers of people over long distances. There are many challenges to successful public transit, with physical distancing required by coronavirus now added to them. Done right, public transit can relieve traffic congestion, …
Home >> Resources >> Solutions >> Water Farmland Irrigation Summary: The biggest direct climate impact with farmland irrigation has to do with the energy used to pump and distribute water. However, efficient use of fresh water is a very important goal by itself, since in many regions there is barely enough water to meet the …
Actions >> Food Reduced Food Waste Background: “In the United States, over one-third of all available food goes uneaten through loss or waste (USDA).” This wasted food is responsible for an estimated 8% of greenhouse gases emitted from deforesting land to convert it to agriculture, from the extra fertilizer, gasoline and water that it takes …
Home >> Resources >> Solutions >> Land Use Forest Restoration Background: A quarter of the world’s forests are in the temperate zone, mostly in the northern hemisphere, and include the boreal forests of Canada and Siberia. 99% of these forests have been altered by human activity through logging, conversion to other uses, or fragmentation. Temperate …
Home >> Resources >> Solutions >> Land Use Forest Protection Background: Forests are essential to combating climate change. Trees are carbon sinks, actively pulling carbon out of the atmosphere as they grow and locking it up in leaves, bark, roots and soil (sequestration). Clearing the land of trees releases most of this carbon to the …
Actions >> Land Use Coastal Wetlands Restoration Background: Shallow coastal waters are home to salt marshes, sea grasses and mangroves which can sequester five times as much carbon as a tropical forest, mostly in the soil below water. Many of our coastal wetlands have been drained, filled or developed, so what remains is precious. Sea …
Home >> Resources >> Solutions >> Materials Use Less Cement Summary: Cement is the element in concrete and mortar that binds it together. Cement makes up 10% of the volume of concrete, but is responsible for 95% of the CO2 emissions of making concrete. Cement-making is the source of 5 to 6% of annual global …
