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Mayor Newsom’s administration is doing a fantastic job of planting more trees in the City.
As my friend Pat Murphy recently wrote in the San Francisco Sentinel:
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom led the (Arbor Day) celebration noting the City now has planted 16,034 trees citywide since 2004 when the mayor set a goal of 20,000 new trees by 2010. Today’s Magnolia planting surpasses City aim of 5,000 trees planted this year by 683, Newsom said.
"Once again, we have shown that San Francisco is committed to meeting its ambitious environmental goals," said Mayor Newsom.
"This tree symbolizes not only our commitment to combating global warming and climate change, but also stands as a way to honor one of California’s most renowned activists (Cesar Chavez) along the street that bears his name," he added.
The City has quite a cadre of programs dedicated to tree planting. There’s a fulltime director of a Department of Urban Greening, Project Green Connect, Dept. of Public Works and Rec & Park.
I’m partial to the work of the Friends of the Urban Forest, a non-profit that since 1981 has provided financial, technical, and practical assistance to San Franciscans for tree planting, tree care, community involvement and youth education.
Yes, I appreciate and applaud the amount of reduced carbon emissions and neighborhood beautification that occurs as a result of the City’s tree planting. I just wish that green business would receive the same attention and resources. Green businesses reduce carbon emission and, in my biased opinion, a green retail business is an EXCEPTIONALLY beautiful addition to a neighborhood.
Let’s give green business the fertile soil, sunlight and water needed to grow and prosper.
To start, the City needs a Green Business Director. The responsibilities of that position would entail:
1) Coordinate the greening of existing San Francisco businesses and the development of new green business as well.
2) Work collaboratively with Bay Area and State of California green business programs.
3) Continual outreach to create new green business opportunities.
4) Create metrics of progress and report monthly to the Mayor’s Chief of Staff.
5) Assist in helping the Mayor formulate an effective green business development strategy that would create economic growth, revenue for the City and a cleaner environment.
Clifford Waldeck
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