SF Bay Climate Tech: March 13 - March 19, 2023
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
We know it’s been quite a weekend for anyone impacted by the SVB fallout, but it’s been inspiring to see the climate tech community step up to support each other as it all played out. Thankfully things are looking a bit more stable today, and if you need anything, please use us as a resource as you get back to work this week.
Hi friends,
It’s another busy week with fourteen events in the Bay Area — for the full list of events, read on past the Hot Take!
In the meantime, a few highlights: if you’re in SF tonight and looking for something to do, head to the FoodHack Meetup to hear from founders and taste samples of the future of food. Stay in on Tuesday and dial into a Lunch & Learn with the EV Charging for All Coalition. On Wednesday, stay in SF and head to the Commonwealth Club for a Talk with Whitehouse National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, or go to Sunnyvale for the Energy Innovation Forum hosted by Plug and Play and the Energy Innovation Network. Thursday, go to Manny’s in SF for a panel on Methane: the 100x threat with the Climate Tech Action Network. On Friday, expand your horizons in the East Bay with The New Farmer's Almanac release at Cafe Ohlone. This weekend, meet fellow environmentalists in SF for the Urban Environmentalists March Picnic. Finally, sign up for Monday’s Nature X Carbon Bay Area Monthly Meetup at SF Commons to talk carbon markets and more.
Cheers,
Alec and Sonam
As always, you can find this week’s full events list at the bottom of the email!
Hot Take: Of Floods and Droughts
By Tamar Honig, edited by Sonam Velani
Water is foundational to all life, playing a key role in sustaining the environmental, social, and financial ecosystems upon which we all rely. In last week’s Hot Take: Climate Change = Water Change, we discussed how the challenges in the water sector are as critical as the resource itself: globally, 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and by 2025, half of the world’s population is projected to live in a water-stressed area. By 2030, humanity’s global water requirements will exceed current sustainable water supplies by 40%.
Closer to home, the story is no different. Many have hailed the recent rains in California as a blessing for the perennially drought-stricken state. Dodging puddles on the Embarcadero and gaping out windows as raindrops turn to hail, we comment to one another that this is “just what we needed.”
But the California storms also create an issue of too much water in the reservoirs too soon. Cities like Sacramento have already received twice as much rainfall as usual this year, with overwhelmed drainage systems and massive flooding. As storms melt snowpack, water managers across the state have released water to prevent reservoirs from overflowing and flooding Central Valley towns, sending water into the ocean. These warm rains melt snow that ideally would endure into spring and aid with water deliveries later in the year.
This paradox – juggling the risk of flooding with the risk of releasing too much water from reservoirs – is just the latest in a long, complex, and controversial history of California water policy. The state’s water laws are based in part on a water rights system with roots in the Gold Rush era, when miners and later farmers made claims by posting notices to trees along waterways. The system, critics lament, arbitrarily determines winners and losers among farms, cities, and the environment, compromising California's ability to fairly and effectively deliver water when it becomes scarce. A major concern of water rights trading markets is that wealthy buyers may purchase the most valuable water rights in years of plenty, hold them, and sell them for a large profit in years of severe water scarcity, creating a predatory market that exploits the most vulnerable.
At their best, water markets can provide financial incentives for lowering existing levels of consumptive water use. They do so by enabling those willing to use less water to be compensated by those who need more water or want to return water to the environment. In this way, water markets open up pathways to accessing water in a more cost-effective and less environmentally damaging way than building new infrastructure.
At their worst, water markets force those with lesser rights to pay higher prices or go without. This can threaten farmer livelihoods by limiting their rights to extract the groundwater on their land, resulting in crop losses and reduced incomes. While cities and industry will pay an almost unlimited amount for water rights historically used by farmers, the farmers themselves end up unable to buy water needed to irrigate their fields. For farmers, these “buy and dry” scenarios can be devastating.
Late last year, Governor Gavins Newsom unveiled a strategy to bolster California’s water supply, acknowledging that the system needs changing. To combat persistent water shortages without harming farmers, the policy outlines various efforts to boost recycled water supplies and storage capacity, both in reservoirs and groundwater. Proposed projects include:
💧 Increasing desalination of brackish water by 28,000 acre-feet per year by 2030 and 84,000 acre-feet per year by 2040. An acre foot of water can serve roughly three Southern California households for a year.
🏞 Expanding reservoir and groundwater storage capacity by 4 million acre-feet, through groundwater recharge, stormwater capture, storage projects, and expansion or rehabilitation of existing reservoirs and dams.
🚿 Finalizing water efficiency standards for houses and businesses, ensuring usage is monitored and limited as needed.
👩🏽⚖️ Considering rules to streamline and modernize the water right system, clarify senior water rights, and establish more equitable fees
During the policy briefing, Newsom lambasted the “regulatory thickets” impeding progress toward these goals. At the same time, to avoid imposing a one-size-fits-all model, Newsom has largely left water management to local water agencies in what he calls a “mandate of local mandates.” But leaving each locality to decide on its own voluntary measures has failed to substantially decrease water use. As with the carbon markets, transitioning from voluntary to mandatory compliance would go a long way in giving teeth to water management guidelines. This, in turn, may quell the fighting over water for which Californians have become infamous.
There is little time to spare in preserving this most fundamental resource, as climate change threatens to continue shrinking California’s water supply. So as we welcome the recent rains in quenching California’s thirsty lands, let’s us hope they also clear the way toward durable, collaboratively designed, and transformative policies to turn off the tap on water stress in the Golden State.
Community Shoutouts
♻️ Clean Tech Open
Applications are now open for the 2023 Cleantech Open (the world’s largest cleantech accelerator!). Get access to expert and specialized mentors, a full business development training program, and investor networking! Apply today at bit.ly/cto2023. The application period is open until 11:59 PM PST on April 16th.
🟧 Green IT Challenge by Orange Silicon Valley
The Green IT Challenge 2023 by Orange Silicon Valley is seeking to identify and engage with the most innovative North American startups in Green IT sectors. Finalists will have the opportunity to conduct paid exploratory projects with one or more business units of Orange.
Events This Week
San Francisco:
🍱 FoodHack Meetup in San Francisco: demos & networking: Mon, Mar 13
🚆 The Future of Public Transportation in the Bay Area: Wed, Mar 15
🇺🇸 A Talk with Whitehouse National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi: Wed, Mar 15
🧠 Climate Masterminds: Wed, Mar 15
🛢 1.5 C - Methane: the 100x threat: Thu, Mar 16
🧺 Urban Environmentalists March Picnic: Sun, Mar 19
🏗 Risk-Taking, Failure in Construction Startups and VC: Mon, Mar 20
🌳 Nature X Carbon Bay Area Monthly Meetup: Mon, Mar 20
East Bay:
🚗 Future of Mobility - Design Thinking Hackathon: Thu, Mar 16
🌾 Food System Career Fair: Planting Seeds of Connection: Fri, Mar 17
👩🌾 The New Farmer's Almanac Book Release at Cafe Ohlone: Fri, Mar 17
South Bay / Peninsula:
🥙 Food and Beverage - Silicon Valley Sustainability Week: Tue, Mar 14
⚛️ Fusion Energy: An Alternative Generation Method: Tue, Mar 14
⚡️ Energy Innovation Forum: Low Carbon Innovation: Wed, Mar 15
Online (Bay Area Groups):
Read on for more details about this week’s happenings and upcoming events this month
Events This Month
🌿 Resilient & Sustainable Foster City Community Workshop: Tue, Mar 21
💥 Women+ in Climate Tech Networking: Tue, Mar 21
🎊 Climate Reality Bay Area: Art and Climate Party!: Wed, Mar 22
📚 Rebecca Solnit: An Energizing Case for Hope About Climate: Wed, Mar 22
⚡️ YPE New Member Meet & Greet Happy Hour: Thu, Mar 23
⚛️ Our Fusion Future—Lawrence Livermore Director Kim Budil: Mon, Mar 27
🤵♂️ Regenerative Gala 2023: Sat, Apr 1
🥙 Urban Foodscape Tour: Innovators Nourishing the East Bay: Wed, Apr 5
🔁 Putting Contemporary Climate Migration in Context: Thu, Apr 6
Events This Week
🍱 FoodHack Meetup in San Francisco - Foodtech startup demos & networking
When: Mon, Mar 13th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Refettorio SF, 690 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
FoodHack meetups are for food tech entrepreneurs, investors and food enthusiasts to network and hear from food industry speakers. Come network with the San Francisco Foodtech community ahead of the Future FoodTech Conference and sample new products from startups, including some sneak-peek demos exclusively at this event.
🥙 Food and Beverage - Silicon Valley Sustainability Selection Week
When: Tue, Mar 14th at 8:00 AM to Wed, Mar 15th at 7:00 PM
Where: Plug and Play Tech Center, 440 North Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale, CA 94085
Across two days you will have access to some of the most exciting and up-and-coming startups within the Food and Beverage and Sustainability space, culminating in our exclusive live Selection Day for Batch 13. We eagerly await welcoming and hosting you in person during Selection Week, introducing you to our most promising startups.
🚗 Lunch & Learn with the EV Charging for All Coalition (EVCAC)
When: Tue, Mar 14th from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
Where: Online
Grab your lunch or favorite snack and join leaders of the EV Charging for All Coalition for an inspiring update and sneak peak. We’ll share what happened with SB 1482 (our EV Equity bill), how we’re accelerating access to at-home EV charging in apartments and condos in cities and states, what's on tap for 2023, and how you can get involved.
⚛️ Fusion Energy: An Alternative Generation Method
When: Tue, Mar 14th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: SEMI, 567 Yosemite Dr, Milpitas, CA 95035
This talk will provide an overview of Zap Energy, the SFS ZP fusion concept and its underlying physics, and a preview of the design of a commercial energy system based on SFS ZP which is currently in development by the Zap team.
Energy Innovation Forum: Low Carbon Innovation
When: Wed, Mar 15th from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Where: Plug and Play Tech Center, 440 North Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale, CA 94085
The United States (U.S.) has set the goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) in half by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. Corporate climate leadership is critical to accelerating this transformation. Business net zero targets are gaining steam even with the economic and geopolitical context in the past year such as supply chain bottlenecks, inflation, and talent shortages. Come join the Energy Innovation Network at the Annual Forum to hear in-depth from both sides of the business spectrum and the important cross-sector, cross-industry link that drives new business development to reach decarbonization targets.
⚡️ Energy Innovation Forum: Low Carbon Innovation
When: Wed, Mar 15th from 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Where: Plug and Play Tech Center, 440 North Wolfe Road, Sunnyvale, CA 94085
The United States (U.S.) has set the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in half by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. To meet this target, there needs to be a new type of growth that decouples economic gains from emissions. This in turn is opening up a new series of investment opportunities. In this event, the Energy Innovation Network and Plug and Play will feature some of the best and brightest minds in the corporate venture capital and startup ecosystem tackling climate change issues with a focus on the energy innovation value chain.
🚆 The Future of Public Transportation in the Bay Area
When: Wed, Mar 15th from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
Where: Manny's, 3092 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
How are transit agencies planning on recovering from the disastrous last few years? What are the ridership trends that are sticking post COVID? What tradeoffs will the agencies need to make to adjust to a new normal? How will autonomous vehicles, mode shifts to cyclists and E-scooters, and an exodus of workers affect how transit works and it's planning? There are so many questions and thankfully we have three transit agency leaders coming to Manny's to answer them: Janice Li - the President of the BART Board, Julie Kirschbaum the Director of Transit at the SFMTA, and TIlly Chang - the Executive Director of the County Transportation Authority.
🇺🇸 Whitehouse National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi at the Commonwealth Club
When: Wed, Mar 15th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: The Commonwealth Club of California, 110 The Embarcadero, Taube Family Auditorium, San Francisco, CA 94105
White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi plays a leading role in coordinating the implementation of the biggest investments in clean energy the United States has ever made. Join Climate One Host Greg Dalton in person with Ali Zaidi as we navigate the complicated maze of industrial policy intended to grow the economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
🧠 Climate Masterminds
When: Wed, Mar 15th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: UC Berkeley Extension, San Francisco 160 Spear Street 6/F, San Francisco, CA 94105
Join NuScale Power, Climate Cabinet and General Atomics in this event hosted by ADAPT, Veritel Energy & UC Berkeley to learn about innovations in Energy in fighting climate change. Climate Masterminds brings together experts and industry players who are developing new technologies and ideas in confronting our climate challenges and ushering in sustainability solutions.
🚗 Future of Mobility - Design Thinking Hackathon
When: Thu, Mar 16th at 5:30 PM to Sat, Mar 18th at 3:00 PM
Where: Chou Hall, Cheit Lane, Berkeley, CA 94720
The number of EVs on the road is increasing due to broader awareness of the climate impacts of burning gasoline, government incentive programs, and their wide availability. This trend is really encouraging because it will drastically reduce the carbon emissions from the transportation sector, but at the same time, it also poses new challenges regarding charging infrastructure, the grid, and public space design. Through this hackathon, teams will design new approaches to solving some of this problems. This event is open to all Berkeley students, regardless of program or qualifications. Our goal is to make sure as many different perspectives are heard and considered as possible. No special knowledge is required - we just ask that you bring excitement and a smile
🛢 1.5 C - Methane: the 100x threat
When: Thu, Mar 16th from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Where: Manny’s, 3092 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Climate Tech Action Network (CTAN) presents 1.5°C, an ongoing climate technology panel event that will focus on the engineering and scientific challenges facing different verticals of the climate crisis. We are bringing together some of the hottest startups in the field to explore the complex trade-offs in cost, feasibility, scalability, and carbon reduction that each of these approaches brings. Methane is the primary component of natural gas, and is a highly potent greenhouse gas, up to 100x more powerful at heat trapping than CO2. Finding ways to prevent methane from leaking into the atmosphere is one of the most important near-term climate actions we can take. Join us for an evening of networking and discussion about new advances in methane detection and mitigation with three of the top Bay Area climate tech startups.
🌾 Food System Career Fair: Planting Seeds of Connection & Transformation
When: Fri, Mar 17th from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Where: Tilden Room, Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union Building, 2455 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
The Berkeley Food Institute invites you to UC Berkeley’s first ever Food Systems Career Fair: Planting Seeds of Connection & Transformation. We invite students at any point in their academic journey to learn about pathways to create change in food systems. Building a sustainable future requires interdisciplinary voices, so we have invited employers ranging from technical assistance providers to farmers, food producers, manufacturers, distributors, and community educators and advocates, all working towards regenerative food systems. Join us to create meaningful connections with on the ground professionals and learn about these various career pathways. This event is open to all Berkeley students and staff.
👩🌾 The New Farmer's Almanac Vol VI Book Release at Cafe Ohlone
When: Fri, Mar 17th from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Where: Cafe Ohlone, 2430 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94704
Join Greenhorns at Cafe Ohlone for the release of The New Farmer’s Almanac Vol. VI: Adjustments and Accommodations on March 17 from 4-6pm pst (with readings beginning at 4:15pm.) Enjoy author readings from the book and celebratory foods courtesy of Cafe Ohlone and writer Leke Hutchins, plus leave with seeds from writer and artist Alex Arzt. Our newest volume of The New Farmer’s Almanac Volume VI: Adjustments and Accommodations seeks to recognize our own collective agency in the face of sizable uncertainties. The morphing climate, ongoing culture of land dispossession, continuing global pandemic, shifting and intensifying weather patterns, and migrations of all species—spurned by political and environmental upheaval—are considered within. There is adaptability in each bloom of algae; tiny particles of inspiration can enliven lives and farm systems; the natural currents and connected sentience of the living earth moves genetic material. Dynamic flux and rapid change remain possible.
🧺 Urban Environmentalists March Picnic
When: Sun, Mar 19th from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: Salesforce Park, 425 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Urban Environmentalists are excited to gather at Salesforce Park, a rooftop park next to the Salesforce Transit Center and a short walk from the Embarcadero. With seating and food available for purchase, his new downtown gem is the perfect spot to connect with like-minded pro-housing, transit, environmental, and urbanism activists from across the Bay Area.
🏗 A Discussion on Risk-Taking, Failure in Construction Startups and VC
When: Mon, Mar 20th from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Where: 301 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Join us for a thought-provoking discussion on the impact of gender on risk-taking in the construction startup and venture capital spaces. As we work to remove barriers and foster a supportive and inclusive environment, it’s crucial to understand the unique experiences and challenges faced by female and male founders. Our panel will feature industry experts sharing their personal stories of success, failure, and the barriers they’ve encountered, all with the goal of creating a shared understanding for all participants.
🌳 Nature X Carbon Bay Area Monthly Meetup
When: Mon, Mar 20th from 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM
Where: SF Commons, 550 Laguna St, San Francisco, CA 94102
The gathering is for people interested in or working at the intersection of nature and climate. Our intention is to host a space where we can meet each other, decompress, have important conversations, enjoy each other's company, and align our efforts for the collective good. This event is a potluck. Please bring food to share with our community. Vegan preferred.
Join the Fun!
Submit Events
We know all of you are cooking up great events across that highlight the latest and greatest in our collective effort to save our city - and our planet! 🌍 We would love to spread the word. Please share any event details and we'll add them to the list!
Climate Tech Cities
We are expanding! We started as an 8-person dinner and now have over 4,000 members in our community. We’ve had people across the world reach out to us to start their own chapters - so we’re launching a new Climate Tech Cities organization this year! If you have friends who are interested in becoming chapter leads, please share the word. Here’s to a global network of local communities making a positive impact!