whose big ideas are delivering climate solutions in one of the largest cities in the world. but first, it is my honor to introduce to you today our host, mayor mark farrell. mayor farrell had demonstrated his willingness to take bold action to protect the environment on a number of fronts. whether it's financing energy efficiency upgrades or zero emission vehicles to help our air quality. one particular issue he championed that remains near and dear to my heart was his work to address toxic flame retardants. they have serious impacts on our firefighters, our children and our low income families. they are chemicals that are legal to use because of weak federal regulations and yet those chemicals have no actual

benefit from a fire prevention standpoint. last year, mayor farrell authorized legislation to ban the use of flame retardant chemicals in furniture and children's products. this is the first banff its kind in the nation. [applause] and that law is being now introduced in the state of california's legislature and could protect the health of families and first responders throughout the state and i don't know. so it goes to show that san francisco's leadership matters. because what happens in san francisco doesn't stay in san francisco. join me in welcoming mayor mark farrell. [applause]

>> thank you, very much, debbie. aren't we all proud to be san franciscans today. [applause] first of all, i want to welcome everybody to city hall for our earth daybreak fast. thank you for joining us this morning. this time of year in april, we always enjoy highlighting how san francisco is a leader in the environment across the globe, not only here locally but here at the state of california but across the globe. we highlight public events that are inspiring people whether it's our youth, whether it's the residents of san francisco like the city nature challenge run locally here by our california academy of sciences. thank you. there we go. [applause] and of course, we're making bold long-term goals for our city of san francisco by pursuing ambitious but commonsense

policies that will drive san francisco into the future. i want to tell you a quick story. yesterday, i had the chance to be with debbie and other people from our department to visit the polished nail and beauty salon in the richmond district. despite a lot of urging, i did not myself get a mana cure or aa pedicure, but my wife and my sister-in-law did. we did because we were celebrating a business that enrolled in our healthy nails program here in san francisco that is working to reduce the exposure of toxins to employees at nail salons. and this business and the leaders linda and sharon, the owners have taken that bold step. they're making it safer for their employees and talking with

them, they are attracting business because of what they're doing. right now in san francisco we have over 50 nail salons that have enrolled in this program and as debbie mentions with other policies and priorities, other cities across the country are taking up this mantle and creating their own programs for their own nail salons. once again san francisco is being a leader. but it just shows how different we are in san francisco than washington d.c. that seems like a given. isn't it a shame, we enjoyed eight years of an amazing president and we are now enduring four years of someone who is so different. when we're moving forward in san francisco this administration is moving the needle black wards on climate change in particular.

the the head of our e.p.a. wants to spend dollars on phone booths, first class tickets for his employees instead of programs stemming the side of climate change in our country. i am here to say that san francisco, while washington d.c. sticks its head in the sand on climate change, we will continue to lead in san francisco. [applause] and thank you to our policies and debbie, i want to thank you for that tribute, many of which were championed by our late mayor ed lee. san francisco has greenhouse gas emissions by 29%. and is the equivalent, think about it, the equivalent of taking 400,000 cars off the roads of san francisco and when we want to really do that today

given the congestion we face. but i think the important point about all of this is we have done that while our economy has grown by 111% and our population has grown by over 20%. san francisco, all of us, we are debunking the myth that the trump administration is trying to promote that a healthy economy cannot succeed alongside a healthy environment. we are proving them wrong right here in the city of san francisco. [applause] i'm here to say this is the city we are just getting started. we announce last week the transition of our water fleet to renewable diesel on the bay. [applause] and by taking this gold step we will be the first region in the country to do it once again.

the first in our country. this historic accomplishment will help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions on a water alone by 60%. and cut back on the diesel pollutants effect our air quality and as you think about it and as we talk to people, the owner of the red and white fleet it's about us and our kids. we're protecting our water and our bay for our children. we also have our own fire department leading the charge and i want to the thank the chief for lead our fire department in this. [applause] they have already made the switch to renewable diesel and once again leading the charge. and as a transit first city, we must continue to prioritize our investments and public transportation. thank you director ruskin for being here. [applause] and we talk about bike lanes, pedestrian pathways, other modes of travel which we are sorting

through every single week here in san francisco. and under mayor lee, we had a goal to achieve 50% of our trips in sustainable modes such as muni, bart, bikes, carpooling or walking. it's part of our zero 50, 100 initiative we see behind this here today. zero waste, 50% sustainable trips and 100% renewable energy. and i'm proud to say we have not only met our transit sustainability goal, we have now exceeded it here in the city of san francisco. currently, we have 54% of our trips that are sustainable. [applause] 54% is good but in san francisco we don't settle for good. we aim for greatness. so today, i'm announcing that we are setting a new goal of 80%

sustainable trips by the near 2030. [applause] >> we have to act now in the city of san francisco because climate change is real and it is real today. accord to go our own department of public-health, climate change will impact the health of all san francisco residents with low income communities and communities of color facing dis preportion at effects in their

own neighborhoods. it means rising sea level changes that will threaten our waterfront and thank you to all of you who have been helping regarding our seawall and other action today's protect our waterfront. [applause] and i say this is a father of three young kids, it is our children that will inherit the earth and it's our children in san francisco that will inherit the city of san francisco. that climate change the policy coming out of washington d.c. is unacceptable. in san francisco, we will steer a different course. we must create a different future for our feet be a beacon for or country and the world as it relates to climate change. so today, you might have read, i am announcing that san francisco is going to sign a pledge to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.

[applause] this bold plan will not only accelerate our emission reduck plans here in san francisco, it will set us on a path to eliminate, our own carbon footprint in the next 30 years. this historic promise alliance san francisco with the goals of the paris climate accord to keep going temperature increases below one and a half percent and builds on our continued progress towards deep grown house gas emissions.

today, as bold as we are, we're joining 40 cities around the globe with this commitment. and to help us achieve this goal, i am directing our san francisco department of the environment, i should add very much willing directing our department of the environment, to work with all of our city department and our partners at the state and national levels and the global level to develop a paris climate, excuse me, a paris compliant climate action strategy by 2020 and to have this initial framework completed by this september, in san francisco, when governor brown will host his climate action summit right here in our own city. debbie, i know we keep raising the baron you and our department of the environment but i know you take these goals willingly and as we all know the stakes are high and i just want to say publicly that i have full faith in our department of the environment and the leadership to make these goals achievable.

[applause] you know, on so many issues san francisco has a responsibility to be a leader. not just for our own residents, not just for our own community, but for our own country and for the world. here in the city, we always rise to the challenge. and we do so together when city government, labor, business, and the non-profit community work collaboratively. we know anything is possible. including zero emissions by 2050. so today, let's join together and celebrate together. today we are making history. and so at that point i would like to invite debbie and any city department heads who are

here and members of the board of supervisors to join on stage as we sign this commitment and this directive to make sure that we are a carbon neutral city here in the city of san francisco. thank you, everyone, for being here. [applause]

[applause] >> thank you, everyone.

>> you hear me but i hear you still. i hear you. we've got a few -- a little while in the program. we're almost there for the schmoozing part. so thank you mayor farrell for your leadership and for making

this ground breaking commitment and frankly for your belief in me and your confidence in our city and my colleagues that we will get this done. because when cities lead, states and nations follow. this is how we heal the planet and leave it better shaped than we found it. so -- so recently, i had the opportunity to travel to mexico city and i attended the women for climate summit organized by c40 and led by the mayors of mexico city and paris. i was joined by the fear less president of our commission on the environment and it was so reward to go meet women from around the world especially young women to talk about

climate change. adriana is one of those women. she is a trail blazing environmentalist who has developed her own business collecting mexico city's organic waste by bicycle and turning it into a valuable resource. and let me just say to follow-up on the mayor's remarks, here in san francisco we don't believe in building walls we believe in building bridges to the people of mexico. [applause] >> so please, give a warm san francisco welcome to adriana, ruiz almeda.

>> hi. good morning to everybody. my name is a degre is a is adri. i'm thrilled to be here to share my story with you and how i became a women for climate leader. during my personal history, i have had the opportunity to get to know really great actors, people that are fighting against climate change and to be able to sustainable and resiliency and all her team. so, thank you for the introduction and you aspire your leadership. i have the pressure the women's requirement for mexico city and

i never thought that opportunity would let me talk to you in front of a lot of people and a lot of leaders that i am doing on their scale. what a fortune with that. also i'm passionate about reducing waste and getting organics out of the landfill. i come here in san francisco as you have a zero waste city. too many of us throughout the world look at you. you have shown the world that it's possible to make a bold commitment and the zero waste is more than just a goal it's the way we should be leaving. i would like -- [applause] i would like to share it with you to make a little bit more waste initiative and why i'm so into making some of the largest cities in the world sustainable.

as debbie mentioned, i'm part of the women's requirement movement and also i am a climate leader recently trained in mexico city but in many ways, i am starting my career in sustainability. i am near mexico city, not in the city and i started my career as a banking and finance. i was really committed to be one successful executive in banking. i wanted to head the world and i was doing so by my style of my lifestyle. my consumer lifestyle. and then without caring about my data i was gathering. the change in me didn't come like suddenly, i did not wake up some morning and what am i doing

and i just questioned my lifestyle and something that did not make more much sense in my life was increasingly evidence to me that i was doing something wrong and also, my peers. i wasn't sustainable in a personal level so i decided to change and to pursue a master in sustainability and spain where i focused primarily on the agri food system and i strengthened my feelings that there was something that i can do. i spent five years in academia uncertain about what it could be leading me and when i returned to mexico city five years later, it seems to me that mexico city environmental issues have only increased in my absence. i personally experienced a week without water on my apartment so

it was really like shocking that such a city of mexico is having this huge problem and we need to address them. i had a much knowledge but little practice so i decided it was time to set out my own to solve solutions with the growing need in mexico city that is to address the food waste. organic waste management, especially in the mega cities like mexico city is carrying many logistical challenges and a lot of environmental impacts. particularly because people took enough care doing a good sorting of the waste and there's not a secondary market he on organic waste precisely so there's were my years in banking so i took my study on financial background and began thinking about how to create a economy in in order to

reduce waste impact. i started with the two amazing partners to focus on assistance and in the city with our organic waste and to help them cover the waste turning to a valuable commodity energy and our targets are small business that generates 50 culgrams for date of waste. we held this business sort their waste, collect it and then utilize it in a buy owe gas plan we are piloting in mexico to turn this waste into some field they can provide facts to their business. we want to be a benchmark of what it needs to be done in a waste energy sector and i am inspired to be part of the zero

waste movement and when you are able to see that there they are each doing in our cities is connecting to a greater world is really aspiring me to be here and to get to know a lot of science people that is struggling with this climate issues. i struggle now as a social responsibility professor to motivate my students to feel inspired and take action. we need to show our young people and everyone that our actions matter and when people see every day people like you and me doing things it is to do the same and it's the same in the city. cities like san francisco aspire in action throughout the world and we believe we have a lot to learn from you and also that we have a lot to share with you as a mega-city that is also facing these issues.

i know that it's going to be the global climate action that's made it happen this year in september so it's my hope that mexico city will be here and be represented and that we will continue to find ways in such our two cities can work together along with the cities throughout the world. thank you for in inviting me here today and i hope to be here in september also and also thank you for all of these great inspirations that you bring to the world. also, as a city that is like a benchmark and that is really a city that we look to collaborate and be here in september. thank you. [applause]

>> so i have to say she did that in english. so let's just all of us who do not speak spanish say amazing. [applause] thank you, adriana and we look forward to continuing to learn from you. mexico city, san francisco, two great cities in this planet have a lot to learn from each other. we're not alone in this battle against climate change. so i have now, as we start to wrap-up, i want to give a call out to a couple people i did not see but now i see. so our fire chief joanne haze white, thank you for all your support. [applause] and thea sellby of the college board, thank you for the leadership of our community college. [applause] we could not put on this event

without the generous support of our sponsors and it feels like this year we actual low have more sponsors which say great sign-in terms of how engage our business community is. i'd like to thank them for their support. if you are enjoying today, you are thanking them along with me. so first, kaiser permente. thank you. [applause] arcadus. [applause] levi strauss, where are you guys? and sales force, where are you guys? thank you. [applause] and then i'd also like to thank, from the depth of my heart, another planet entertainment blue shield of california, c40

cities, five point, san francisco giants, hospital council of northern and central california, mcdonald's, r.m.w. architecture and interiors, united airlines and wells fargo. let's give them a big round of applause. and my final thank you goes out to the people i work with every day who inspire me and fill me with such such deep gratitude. the staff of the department of environment. [applause] so in closing, we're starting today row reflecting on what it means to lose what we've got. but we know that all is not lost. especially when we commit to take action on behalf of our

planet earth. we have much work to do and we have much to celebrate too. which is why i want to send you off on an unbeat note to help us get motivated to reach our new 80% transportation goal. thank you m.t.a., yeah. we've invited the san francisco cable car chorus to close out today's o break fast with a song about our city. [applause] [♪] ♪ we'd like to welcome you to san francisco ♪ ♪ the city by the bay ♪ let's ring the cord on the

cable car ♪ ♪ come on and chase the blue away ♪ ♪ the closest you'll get to heaven ♪ ♪ and right here in our town ♪ when you ring a cord on a cable car ♪ ♪ you feel so high you may never come down ♪ ♪ long and the golden gate ♪ will thrill you through and through ♪ ♪ they love and chinatown ♪ are waiting just for you ♪ but the closest you will ever get to heaven ♪ ♪ is right here in our town ♪ when you ring a cord on a cable car ♪ ♪ you feel so high you may never come down ♪ when you ring a cord on a cable car ♪ ♪ when you ring ♪ ring ring ring ring ring ring ♪ ♪ you'll feel so high ♪ you'll never come down

[applause] >> thank you all. have a wonderful earth day. happy earth day and enjoy each other for the! good-bye! thank you, thank you for being here!

. >> the san francisco carbon fund was started in 2009. it's basically legislation that was passed by the board of supervisors and the mayor's office for the city of san francisco. they passed legislation that said okay, 13% of the cost of the city air travel is going to go into a fund and we're going to use the money in that fund to do local projects that are going to mitigate and sequester greenhouse gas emission. the grants that we're giving, they're anywhere from 15,000 to, say, $80,000 for a two year grant. i'm shawn rosenmoss. i'm the development of community partnerships and carbon fund for the san francisco department of environment. we have an advisory committee that meets once or twice a year

to talk about, okay, what are we going to fund? because we want to look at things like equity and innovative projects. >> i heard about the carbon fund because i used to work for the department of environment. i'm a school education team. my name is marcus major. i'm a founding member of climate action now. we started in 2011. our main goal it to remove carbon in the public right-of-way on sidewalks to build educational gardens that teach people with climate change. >> if it's a greening grant, 75% of the grant has to go for greening. it has to go for planting trees, it has to go for greening up the pavement, because again, this is about permanent carbon savings. >> the dinosaur vegetable

gardens was chosen because the garden was covered in is afault since 1932. it was the seed funding for this whole project. the whole garden,ible was about 84,000 square feet, and our project, we removed 3,126 square feet of cement. >> we usually issue a greening rft every other year, and that's for projects that are going to dig up pavement, plant trees, community garden, school garden. >> we were awarded $43,000 for this project. the produce that's grown here is consumed all right at large by the school community. in this garden we're growing all kinds of organic vegetables from lettuce, and artichokes. we'll be planting apples and

loquats, all kinds of great fruit and veggies. >> the first project was the dipatch biodiesel producing facility. the reason for that is a lot of people in san francisco have diesel cars that they were operating on biodiesel, and they were having to go over to berkeley. we kind of the dog batch preferentials in the difference between diesel and biodiesel. one of the gardens i love is the pomeroy rec center. >> pomeroy has its roots back to 1952. my name is david, and i'm the chamber and ceo of the pomeroy rehabilitation and recreation center. we were a center for people with intellectual and

development cal disabilities in san francisco san francisco. we also have a program for individuals that have acquired brain injury or traumatic brain injury, and we also have one of the larger after school programs for children with special needs that serves the public school system. the sf carbon fund for us has been the launching pad for an entire program here at the pomeroy center. we received about $15,000. the money was really designed to help us improve our garden by buying plants and material and also some infrastructure like a drip system for plants. we have wine barrels that we repurposed to collect rain water. we actually had removed over 1,000 square feet of concrete so that we could expand the garden. this is where our participants, they come to learn about

gardening. they learn about our work in the greenhouse. we have plants that we actually harvest, and eggs from our chickens that we take up and use in cooking classes so that our participants learn as much as anybody else where food comes from. we have two kitchens here at the pomeroy center. one is more of a commercial kitchen and one is more setup like a home kitchen would be, and in the home kitchen, we do a lot of cooking classes, how to make lasagna, how to comsome eggs, so this grant that we received has tremendous value, not only for our center, for our participants, but the entire community. >> the thing about climate, climate overlaps with everything, and so when we start looking at how we're going to solve climate programs, we solve a lot of other problems, too.

this is a radical project, and to be a part of it has been a real honor and a privilege to work with those administrators with the sf carbon fund at the department of environment. >> san francisco carbon grant to -- for us, opened the door to a new -- a new world that we didn't really have before; that the result is this beautiful garden. >> when you look at the community gardens we planted in schools and in neighborhoods, how many thousands of people now have a fabulous place to walk around and feel safe going outside and are growing their own food. that's a huge impact, and we're just going to keep rolling that out and keep rolling that

>> good morning. oh, my god, what a day. what a day to be at the port, what a day to be outside. it's so beautiful chl the sun is out. happy earth month. i am debbie rafell. i am the director of the department of 1r50ir789, and this is the most fabulous and gorgeous place to be at this moment in time. it's very fitting to be at the waterfront, of course, during earth month. who needs a reminder of the poshs of protecting our environment and the importance of protecting this planet. we're here today to announce another step forward in our environmental stewardship journey. our jurny towards taking bold climate actions, to preserve this planet for us and for future generations. clearly -- and there's the nice

sound. clearly, to address our climate needs, we're going to have to tackle the transportation sector. in san francisco the transportation sector accounts for about 50% of our emissions, a huge part. this is a city that believes in leading by example, and our transit fleet is one of the cleanest in the nation, and part of that cleanliness, if you will, has to do with fuel switching, where we're getting off of diesel, dirty diesel, and replacing it with renewable fuels. we are electrifying when we can, and we're using renewable fuels when the technology hasn't quite caught up with us yet to get off of dues will and nonrenewable fuels. this allows us to take action using existing equipment and existing technology.

the san francisco department of environment, the mayor's office, the port and all of our community stakeholders with us today ahave been working hard o introduce renewable fuels into this new form of transportation. so i'm pleased to introduce to you today mayor mr. mark farrell who will be making the announcement that we are all looking forward to listen to. so mayor farrell. >> thank you. debbie. it's good to be here, and love the interaction that we're seeing on our waterfront behind us. so thanks to the introduction, debbie, and i want to thank everyone for coming out today for this announcement. you know we're all here today because we care very deeply about our city of san francisco, and we care deeply about our environment in the city of san francisco, and i know we all have concerns about the federal leadership or lack of federal leadership on environmental issues right now

coming out of washington, d.c. the head of our epa seems to be more concerned about flying first-class and the cole industry than pushing environmental policies forward that will have a positive impact if our communities. and while they continue to stick their heads in the sand in terms of climate change in washington, d.c., san francisco is once again stepping forward as a leader in our country for the environment. thanks to our innovatetive practices here in our city, we are on our way to meeting our goal of 50% renewable power goal by 2020 and 100% by 2050. in san francisco, we are proving our dpost wropg every single day. we have reduced greenhouse

gases by 20%. at the same time our population has grown by 19%, and our gdp has grown by 75% in the city of san francisco. we are proving washington, d.c., we are proving the skeptics wrong. i am here to say that as mayor of the city of san francisco that i am convinced that not only the san francisco but our korld with coexist by having strong environmental policies and a strong economy at the same time. they go together. this is called climate leadership. this is what san francisco is all about, and today we are excited to announce the next step in that journey as the city of san francisco. so today we are announcing the transition of the san francisco bay area water fleet to 100% renewable diesel. we are taking this bold step, and when we do, we will become the first region in the entire country to achieve this goal. let me repeat that. once again in the city of san francisco, we will be the first

in the country to lead on the environment. it will help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by another 60% on the water and cutback on the diesel pollutants that affect our air. four of the bay areas ferry providers will be making the switch to diesel here in 2018 and 2019, including our fire department, which will make the transition this year in the city of san francisco. i do want to thank all the ferry providers for joining with the city of san francisco to make this happen. this does not happen alone. it takes strong partnerships. i want to thank our fire department in particular, chief hayes-white and all the leaders that are here today on this issue. i want to thank debbie with the department of the environment, elaine forbes, and her staff at the port. i want to give great thampgz to our former mayor, ed lee, who started this conversation years ago.

tyrone chiu, who i know he's been at the forefront of this issue for a long time. we're going to be the first in the nation to make this change, but we will not be the last. this is just the beginning, and san francisco once again is stepping forward as a leader in the country on the environment, and that's something we all should be very, very proud of it. our city deserves it, our country deserves it, and our world deserves it. thanks, everyone. >> wow, thank you, mayor farrell. our country deserves it, our city deserves it, our planet deserves it, our world deserves it, indeed. so transitioning a water fleet demonstrates what's possible when public and private sectors work together. and as the mayor said, this did not happen overnight or by accident. this transition happened because we put our heads together and collectively we problem solved, and we

brainstormed, and we figured out what was the missing information, what do we need to have happen to make this change? because no one had done it before. we couldn't even look to europe as a model because we were the first. and i would like to recognize some of those leaders, those partners who made this possible from our regulatory agencies, the environmental protection agency, the california resources board, and the water emergency transportation authority, our local ferry and water transit operators, red-white fleet, blue and gold fleet, golden gate ferry, horn blower and alcatraz tours, to the marine manufacturers and mtu. they had to figure out, would this renewable product work in their ferries. and so our own san francisco fire department, which has a fireboat fleet, and one of them

is behind us, and hopefully we will be enjoying a demonstration of their prowess today. i'd also like to thank the leadership and cooperation of our commission on the environment. commissioner eddie ong is here with us today to encourage us on and to ensure that san francisco continues in a leadership moment. and of course, the real leader in all this, the mother of the leaders is our port director, elaine forbes. i get to say that as a woman. she leads with courage, she's a role model for all of us, and she's a resource for cities and ports all around the world. under her leadership, the port is an environmental champion, from shoreside power to 100% greenhouse gas energy procurement, to solarizing buildings, elaine is fearless and determined, and this could not happen without her support, so let's welcome elaine forbes,

port director. >> thank you so much, debbie, for that absolutely amazing introduction. i'm quite shy now about that, and thank you so much mayor farrell for your commitment to climate change and to our city's waterfront. hello, everyone and thank you for coming to our world renouned waterfront. this is a spectacular resource. the san francisco bay is so pristine and so defining for our city. and our ferry operator tenants, along with the city and the port are at the forefront of environmental stewardship. i'm very proud to say that. i'm speaking today on behalf of port staff and port commission. we have port commissioner lessee ka lessee -- leslie katz here. thank you for your leadership. since 2001, we have removed 300,000 square feet of dilapidated peers, improving the bay quality. we've cleaned up contaminated

properties, and in every location, we have plans to open up the properties to san francisco and the region, further connecting people to the bay. we have wonderful new buildings that are lead certified and we have a building at herron's head park. we've cut emissions by more than half. we privacy row emissions hydropower to our cruise ship at pier 27 and to our large government and commercial ship at pier 70. and with this announcement today, we are a making our air and water healthier for everyone. and i want to talk about how this initiative started. mayor farrell mentioned our y late mayor lee. back in july 2016, we toured our mayor for the late mission bay ferry landing. on that boat ride, mayor lee

made the connection, hmm, if city owned industrial equipment and our fleet can transfer to renewable diesel, could the ferries, too? he had a big vision for this waterfront and for growth in our water transportation and linked this vision to environmental stewardship. his point person, tyrone viewed got on the job, teamed up with my key person, rich furman, and teamed up with important staff from the department. and ferry operators stepped up and agreed to make this change. so now with their partnership, we will have cleaner air for everyone in san francisco. and we are becoming alternative fuels leaders for ferries in san francisco at the exact time that we're expanding our ridership. it's such a great partnership to see more people on the bay and more people in ferries and knowing that's true ae going to be cleaner.

we are so graceful to our late mayor for his call to action and for city staff and ferry operators who saw his vision through. and it will not stop here. we will be advancing other environmental initiatives, and we will be rebuilding this harbor to keep it safe, environmentally secure and keep it great for future generations. this is a beautiful waterfront, and we aim to keep it that way. thank you all for coming. [applause]. >> thank you, elaine and thank you inform poto port commissio port staff who have been such champions of this. so as elaine said, we can't do this alone. we might have an idea, we might see a possibility, a window of opportunity, but we need the ferry operators to step up. and the person behind me was incredible. he said yes, we will try this, yes, we will do this, and i

will make sure it happens. we are incredibly lucky to have such forward thinking, committed operators here in san francisco. the water fleet exemplifies that can do of why not? why not here? whatever they can do to push the envelope to make ferry ridership part of the equation to heal the planet. so let us well come our champion, tom escher, to talk for a moment. [applause]. >> thank you very much. i'm not sure who you were talking about. one of the things i don't believe in is fake news, so mr.

mayor, i have to say that the fleet has been using renewable fuel since last year, and there's been no operational problems. this is another step for the red-white fleet, there is another one to our zero pollution. and the next step is for us in august of this year, we will have the anhydra, which is an electric ferry boat coming here. she will be here in august. and in 2019, she's going to be completely electric, no pollution on the boat, completely electric. in 2020, we're going to have a -- a hydrogen fuel cell boat, which is here. zero pollution. now all these things i'm talking about, you can buy on-line at amazon, so all we're doing is putting the pieces together, and because we believe in zero pollution. our board has said we have to

be zero pollution by 2025 for all of our boats, and we will make that, if not sooner. why are we doing this, you're going to ask. all of this is proven technology. there's nothing new here. we're like a chef, we're making a stew. all of this is going to give us a reasonable business return. and the last most important, nobody in the audience is going to be affected here. this is your children, your grandchildren. this is what we're looking for. we can't kick the can down the road anymore when you can buy all this stuff on-line at amazon. it is insanity. so from a point of view, i'd like to thank the mayor, mayor lee started this. we have a new mayor now. he's continuing it. the department of environment, the port of san francisco, elaine forbes, mike martin, rich bierman, and all sorts of other people who i haven't

mentioned. nesti is the provider of the renewable fuel who's great, and also aaron peskin, our supervisor. one last comment i'd like to make is our vessel the xalaphus is there, and yif you don't knw what that is, you should look it up. thank you very much. >> i have no idea what xalaphus means, so that's my homework. wow. thank you, tom, and i think what you heard there is that pioneering spirit, that why not. that's why you keep things in notebooks. all right. so tom talked about the long version, getting to zero

emissions boats and ferries. just with this one action of moving towards renewable decembering, from traditional diesel from dinosaur bones, we're going to be able to reduce 22,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases. this is a significant action that can be today. i would like to encourage everyone, the next time you are going to oakland or alameda or coming into the city, ride in one of our wonderful ferries. you'll get the best view of the bay, the best view of our city, and you'll be doing it knowing that you're healing the planet at the same time. i want to close by sharing one of my favorite talking points, which is that i believe that the world is one by those who show up, and that every person out there today is showing up to heal the planet and showing up to make a difference, and this is done when government works with the private sector in close partnership. my team, suzanne lucen and zach

thompson, as well as rich berman and tyrone chiu who lead with their hearts as well as their mind dos. it's because of all of you that we're all able to do this together. so with that, i am hopeful that behind me will be something spectacular and worth looking at besides -- what is it? xaluphus. >> it's called the xaluphus, and if you look at the spelling, you can google it and then tell me what it means. >> that's my homework, the xaluphus. oh, there we go, soon to be operated on renewable diesel, the fireboat. it's right now -- excuse me. we don't want fake news. right now, at this moment, the fire department has adopted

renewable diesel, and that boat is leading the world right now in environmental stewardship. thank you, fire department. [applause].

. >> could you please call the roll. [ roll call. ] >> madam claire, director