Three garbage cans for zero waste
Two decades ago, in 2002, San Francisco set itself a challenge that no one had dared to take on before: to be the world's first 100% zero-waste city by 2022. As we look back, the challenge has been met: for the first time, no waste has been incinerated in a city of over 880,000 inhabitants. The secret lies in three simple garbage cans: black for non-recyclable waste, blue for recyclable waste and green for organic waste. They conceal a far more complex system, based on the world's largest sorting center, Pier 96. It is in this 20,000m2 hangar that private contractor Recology sorts waste. It's a labyrinth of conveyor belts and an army of blowers sorting each and every piece of waste left loose in the famous blue garbage can: aluminum, steel, plastic, paper, cardboard and glass.
For this system to work, no Franciscan can escape it, because since 2009, a decree has obliged every citizen and every business to submit to sorting. Municipal officers monitor the garbage cans on a daily basis, and fines can be imposed on troublemakers. As a preventive measure, since 2016, City Hall has banned plastic water bottles, replacing them with recyclable cardboard packaging. Thanks to these innovative measures, San Francisco now boasts the distinction of being the world's first Zero Waste city.
Eco-responsible right down to the plate
Between kale, avocado toast and chia seeds, healthy food is at its peak in San Francisco. By joining forces with the Slow Food movement (in opposition to fast food), it not only promotes healthier cooking, but also more environmentally sustainable cooking, featuring organic ingredients grown under the Californian sun. Local ingredients are de rigueur thanks to the many Farmers Markets, where Franciscans stock their pantries with organic produce. The most famous of these is the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, which supplies locals three times a week with fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, meats, eggs, bread and cheeses from nearby farms, most of them certified organic. Vegetarian and vegan cuisines are also very popular, to promote ethical and ecological eating. California classics and Mexican-influenced dishes all find their vegan counterparts in the Bay Area.
Rich biodiversity in the face of the megalopolis
San Francisco is what the Americans call a biodiversity hotspot, an area of rich but threatened biodiversity. The city alone is home to 450 species of native plants, as well as numerous animals. Some living creatures are buckling under the city's advance and are now classified as endangered species, such as Icaricia icarioides missionensis, a blue butterfly endemic to the Bay Area, or the California red-legged frog, holder of the record for the longest leap among amphibians (6 meters). Urbanization is not the only factor threatening the Bay's rich biodiversity; it is accompanied by global warming and the introduction of numerous invasive plant species.
The many parks of San Francisco
Like California, San Francisco is home to numerous parks where San Franciscans can enjoy a bit of fresh air. The largest, Golden Gate Park, at 412 hectares, is larger than its New York cousin, Central Park. With its many points of interest, it has nothing to envy either. The Conservatory of Flowers' tropical greenhouse is one of the largest in the world, while the Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest Japanese garden in the United States. One of the jewels in Golden Gate Park's crown is the San Francisco Botanical Garden. The largest botanical garden on the West Coast presents the public with almost 9,000 plant species from all over the world, both local and exotic, with a particular attraction for magnolias. Other municipal parks, such as the Presidio, in a former military base, or Twin Peaks, the twin peaks rising to 280 meters, make San Francisco a perfect city for a stroll.
The San Francisco region, too, boasts an incredible diversity of parks: from the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada to the lunar landscapes of Yosemite National Park, from the peaks of Sequoia National Park to those of Redwood National Park.
The threat of the embers
The giant sequoia, the world's widest tree, and the yew-leaf sequoia, the world's tallest, are both California native celebrities that perfectly illustrate the phenomenon of mega forest fires in California. The seeds of the former can only be released from their woody cones by fires, while the size of the latter enables it to attract lightning, and its thick bark resists fire. These giants demonstrate that fire is an integral part of the Californian climate, and that the ecosystem has adapted to it.
In recent years, however, this balance has tended to weaken dramatically, not because of the presence of fires, but because of their intensity and frequency, and the plant giants are the best symbol of this. The years 2020 and 2021 were among the worst fires California has ever seen. In 2021, the flames were so strong that they destroyed 3,600 giant redwoods, which are naturally fireproof. In two short years, almost 20% of the giant sequoias succumbed to the embers. While wildfires are common in California, the intensity and frequency of the flames that plunge San Francisco into thick orange smoke are unprecedented, and the phenomenon seems to be getting worse every year due to the accumulation of wood fuel in the forests, urbanization and, of course, global warming, which is hitting the state hard. The Camp Fire of 2018 was the deadliest in California's history, completely leveling the small town of Paradise. The 7 biggest fires in the state's history have occurred since 2018, and the Oak Fire megafire of summer 2022 did not contradict this tragic trend.
