SF Bay Climate Tech: May 30 - June 5
Energy equity, AI and climate, Jane Fonda, South Bay soirées, parties with purpose and more events this month
Hi friends,
We hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend! We’ve spent it busy at work on a few new things that we’re excited to share with you, starting with our amazing new logo from the incredible Ariel Simon. She’s been working on a whole brand design, and this is just the start! In the meantime, here are our picks for the week:
Wednesday, swing by the 🤖 AI: Less Carbon, More Impact in SF
Thursday’s the day for women in climate: in SF, you can join USGBC for the 👷♀️ Women in Green Committee Meeting or head to the Commonwealth Club for 📣 An Evening with Jane Fonda. In the South Bay, make friends and conversation at a roundtable soiree with 🌎 Women in Climate Positive Innovation.
Friday, 🥳 Party with a Purpose with Reusable SF at Manny’s in the Mission
As always, scroll on down for a longer list of upcoming events this month. Want to promote an event? Let us know at the bottom of the email!
Cheers,
The SF Climate Tech Team
Energy Equity
– By Kathy Zhang
Last year, California passed sweeping climate measures committing to carbon neutrality by 2045 and 90% clean energy by 2035. What could a more equitable, clean energy system look like in SF?
Energy equity is about providing affordable, reliable and efficient energy for all, in a way that includes the local community in the transition and benefits. This week, we’re focusing on some promising policy and community initiatives advancing energy equity.
Rising temperatures – and prices
Like the costs of other essentials like food and housing, utilities prices are also increasing. Minorities and older residents face a much higher energy burden–the share of household income spent on energy costs.
In 2022, more than 1.4 million Californians were behind on their electric and gas bills. In the same year, California administered over $1.6 billion for overdue utilities bills via the California Arrearage Payment Program (CAPP).
In recent years, states like California have been piloting percentage-of-income payment plans (PIPPs), in which utilities companies provide tiered, income-based plans. Bill assistance and PIPPs are useful measures, particularly when used with other tools to tackle the larger structural challenges in energy equity.
A full(er) picture
The US Department of Energy (DoE) has put forth a beta “Energy Justice Dashboard” which layers DoE investments over environmental and demographic indicators from the EPA’s EJScreen and measures of energy burden from DoE’s Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD).
Local initiatives expanding access to clean energy
Public & community power suppliers. A program of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, CleanPowerSF sources local renewable energy to deliver cleaner electricity using PG&E infrastructure and services. CleanPowerSF is able to purchase renewable energy at competitive rates by pooling customer demand. Residents in State-defined “disadvantaged communities” receive a 20% discount on their bill. Regional clean energy providers also include Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) and East Bay Community Energy (EBCE).
GRID Alternatives. This nonprofit partners with the City of San Francisco to implement solar power and energy efficiency projects for low-income households and communities. It also provides hands-on job training to expand access to opportunities in the solar market.
People Power Solar Cooperative. Based in Oakland, the members-driven organization brings people together to create local renewable energy projects, including an Energy Sharing Network.
Additional resources to check out:
Events This Week
🤖 AI: Less Carbon, More Impact: Wed, May 31
🌎 Women in Climate Positive Innovation - a Roundtable Soiree: Thu, Jun 1
👷♀️ Women in Green Committee Meeting: Thu, Jun 1
📣 An Evening with Jane Fonda: Thu, Jun 1
🌱 Climate Conversations: Thu, Jun 1
🥳 Party with a Purpose with Reusable SF: Mon, Jun 5
Read on for more details about this week’s happenings and upcoming events this month
Events This Month
⚡️ SVLG Energy & Sustainability Summit: Thu, Jun 8
♻️ German American Circular Economy Conference: Thu, Jun 8
🌳 Climate Action Q&A with Rebecca Bauer-Kahan & Dr. Heidi Roop: Thu, Jun 8
🌿 SFHub : INSEAD Business Sustainability Series: Thu, Jun 8
🍷 Wine and Environmental Justice Conference: Fri, Jun 9
🌾 Cory Booker: Taking on Big Ag and Going Big on Climate: Fri, Jun 9
🍃 Gardeneur Plant and Eco-Market: Sun, Jun 11
🌊 Peter Gleick and the Three Ages of Water: Mon, Jun 12
♻️ Recology San Francisco Public Tour: Wed, Jun 14
🌱 TUSIAD Silicon Valley Climate Tech & Sustainability Panel: Thu, Jun 15
🏘️ Bridging the Climate/Housing Gap: Thu, Jun 15
🕯️ Climate Resilience Clean-Up at Candlestick Point: Fri, Jun 16
🔭 Astronomy for Planet Earth: Tue, Jun 20
🔌 The Grid: What is it & Policy for All-Electric Buildings?: Wed, Jun 21
📈 2023 Ventures Summit - Climate Innovation: Thu, Jun 22
💚 StorySlam Oakland presents Green: Sun, Jun 25
🌾 How You Can Change the Future of Food: Mon, Jun 26
♻️ Recology San Francisco Public Tour: Wed, Jun 28
💸 The Anti-ESG Movement: Combating the Attack: Wed, Jun 28
⛳️ RLC Hosts a Putting GREEN Social: Thu, Jun 29
Events This Week
🤖 AI: Less Carbon, More Impact
When: Wed, May 31st from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Where: San Francisco, CA (Register for location
Come network with like-minded leaders and builders spanning AI, Climate, and Computing to discuss potential solutions, and see a showcase of how CrusoeCloud is helping the AI community build better, without the carbon footprint.
🌎 Women in Climate Positive Innovation - a Roundtable Soiree
When: Thu, Jun 1st from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Where: Athena Grill & Catering, 1505 Space Park Drive, Santa Clara, CA 95054
In 2022, more than $1.1 trillion was spent on Climate Tech investing, with expectations that the trajectory will continue dramatically upward as ambitious goals for sustainable growth become more elusive. As your Hostesses with the Mostestess - Heather, Rika and Yiying - are excited to have you join us for a casual, but critical, intimate roundtable on some of the most important debates and discussions on climate tech and social sustainability.
👷♀️ Women in Green Committee Meeting
When: Thu, Jun 1st from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Where: Archetype Lighting Showroom, 151 Vermont St Studio 9, San Francisco, CA 94103
Staying true to the USGBC’s Women in Green Initiative to empower women leaders in green building and sustainability, we will be gathering again to further celebrate our theme of “Self-Titled” and writing our narrative for 2023.
📣 An Evening with Jane Fonda
When: Thu, Jun 1st from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA 94114
She has been a political activist her entire adult life, involved in multiple anti-war movements, the civil rights movement, in support of the Black Panthers, in the fight for LBGTQ rights, in feminist struggles, and now, in the fight of her life to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.
🌱 Climate Conversations
When: Thu, Jun 1st from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM
Where: Harry J. Elam, Jr. Theater — Roble Gym, 375 Santa Teresa Street, Stanford, CA 94305
The climate crisis we are experiencing has been exacerbated by a crisis of representation. Artists from different disciplines have been trying to come up with images and narratives that could capture the core issues of this crisis, with varying success. Instead of staging fictional narratives, some theaters started inviting climate scientists and scholars to address the issues of climate change in direct conversations with each other and with the audience. Following that model, TAPS is inviting prominent scientists, artists, activists, and scholars who are working on this important issue to participate in Climate Conversations, which we offer as a direct response to the closure of representation caused by the slow violence of global warming. TAPS and co-sponsor StanfordLive, are approaching these dialogues the same TAPS would our regular productions; they are a new form of documentary theater.
🥳 Party with a Purpose with Reusable SF
When: Mon, Jun 5th from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Where: Manny’s, 3092 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Party with Purpose with Reusable SF! Come and Join us to make SF a Disposable-Free City! Meet the innovators that are making SF reusable. Learn about a new ordinance to make SF restaurants, events, and businesses disposable-free
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!