Three garbage cans for zero waste
Two decades ago, in 2002, San Francisco set itself a challenge that no one had dared to take up before: to be the first 100% zero waste city in the world by 2022. At the time of the assessment, the challenge was successful: for the first time, no waste was incinerated in a city with a population of more than 880,000. The secret of success lies in three simple garbage cans: black for non-recyclable waste, blue for recyclable waste and green for organic waste. They conceal a much more complex system, which relies on the world's largest sorting center, Pier 96. It is in this 20,000m2
shed that the private service provider Recology sorts waste. It represents a labyrinth of conveyor belts and an army of blowers that sort each of the waste left in bulk in the famous blue garbage can: aluminum, steel, plastic, paper, cardboard and glass. For this whole system to work, no Franciscan can escape it, because since 2009, a decree obliges every citizen and every company to sort. Municipal agents monitor the garbage cans daily, and, fines can fall for troublemakers. As a preventive measure, since 2016, the city has banned plastic water bottles and replaced them with recyclable cardboard packaging. Thanks to these innovative measures, San Francisco now boasts of being the first Zero Waste city in the world.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 the Slow Food movement (as opposed to fast food), it not only promotes healthier cuisine, but also more sustainable for the environment, by highlighting organic ingredients grown under the Californian sun. Local ingredients are indeed de rigueur thanks to the many Farmers Markets, where Franciscans fill their pantries with organic produce. The most famous of these is the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, which supplies residents three times a week with fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers, meats, eggs, bread and cheeses from nearby farms, most of which are 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 Americans call a biodiversity hotspot, an area of rich but threatened biodiversity. The city alone has 450 species of native plants, but also many animals. Some living things are buckling under the advancement of the city 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 m). Urbanization is not the only factor threatening the Bay's rich biodiversity, but it is accompanied by global warming as well as the introduction of many invasive plant species.
The many parks of San Francisco
Like California, San Francisco is home to many parks where Franciscans can enjoy a little coolness. The largest, Golden Gate Park, with 412 hectares, is larger than its New York cousin, Central Park. With its many points of interest, it has nothing to envy it 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 gems of Golden Gate Park is the San Francisco Botanical Garden. The largest botanical garden on the West Coast presents to the public nearly 9,000 plant species from around the world, both local and exotic, with a special attraction for magnolias. Other city 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 walking. The San Francisco area is not to be outdone either and also shows an incredible diversity of parks: from the snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada to the lunar landscapes of Yosemite National Park, passing through the peaks of Sequoia National Park or those of Redwood National Park.The threat of the embers
The Giant Sequoia, the world's widest tree, and the Yew Tree, the world's tallest, are both California native celebrities that perfectly illustrate the phenomenon of mega forest fires in California. The former's seeds can only be released from its woody cone by fires, while the latter's size allows it to attract lightning, and its thick bark resists fire. These giants demonstrate how fire is an integral part of California's climate, and how the ecosystem has adapted to it.
However, this balance tends to be dramatically weakened in recent years, not by the presence of fires, but by their intensity and frequency, and the plant giants are the best symbol. The years 2020 and 2021 had some of the worst fires California has seen. In 2021, the flames were so strong that they consumed 3,600 giant, century-old, naturally fire-resistant redwoods. In two short years, nearly 20% of the giant sequoias succumbed to the embers. If fires are natural in California, the intensity and frequency of the flames that plunge San Francisco into thick orange smoke hold unprecedented, and the phenomenon seems to be a little more serious each year because of the accumulation of fuel wood in the forests, urbanization and of course global warming that is hitting the state hard. The 2018 Camp Fire was the deadliest in California history and completely leveled the small town of Paradise. The 7 largest fires in the state's history have occurred since 2018 and the Oak Fire megafire of the summer of 2022 did not contradict this tragic trend.
