>> good morning. i love this day. it's wonderful to be here with all of you. so many people in the room who are my favorite people in the planet. thank you for joining us this morning. every year we try and make this breakfast as special as possible to celebrate our work together. on behalf of the environment, on behalf of our city and on behalf of our plan secretary this year is of course no exception.

so to get us started this morning, we have an up lifting performance from students from the school of the arts here in san francisco let's welcome them now.

[♪] [♪] [♪]

[♪] [applause]

while they're walking outlets give a hand for the inspiring students of the arts! [applause] there is something so timeless about that song. i remember when it came out in the 70s and 40 years later it's still ringing true. though, in san francisco, where is ed ruskin. where are you, ed? oh my god, he is back there. ok! i think ed would agree that we build a lot more transit and bike lanes than parking lots. we're on the right track. [applause] so good morning, everyone. my name is debbie and i have the privilege of serving as the directodirector as the san frano department of environment. we have a lot to be proud of when it comes to our environmental achievements as a

city and san francisco would not have much to celebrate if not for the collective efforts of all of you with us here today. and so i would like to start by acknowledging some of the leaders who are in the room. the room is full of phenomenal leaders and these are a few of particularly note in my heart. so first and foremost, mayor mark farrell, thank you for your leadership. [applause] and i can't see where everyone is so i am going to call out names of people who i believe are here with us. supervisor katy tang. [applause] supervisor sandra lee fewer. [applause] supervisor erin peskin.

and supervisor catherine stephanie. we also have nicolas from the bart board of directors, john risso from the city college board of trustees and rachel knot tonorton from the board of education. [applause] and of course, our commission on the environment we have our president, johanna walled, heather stevenson, sarah juan and lisa oyos. [applause] today we also have with us the deputy council general of mexico guirilmo reyes. we have the former u.s. embassador to hungry, elainey

kunalakis. we have michael picker, the president of the california public utilities commission. [applause] and now, i want to read a list that is long and storied and important to me so let us hold our applause to the end and these are my colleagues, my fellow department heads without whom we could not do what we are celebrating today. naomi kelly, muhammad nuru, ed ruskin, phil michael lamb bart, john aim, thom hughie from dbi, michael carland, nicole bond, adrian pond, barbara garcia,

brian strong, john updike, and finally, my partner in everything tyron jew from the mayor's office. could you stand up and be recognized. [applause] and lastly, i would like to thank our main sponsor for this event, so grateful for their leadership and their demonstration of what is possible when you lead by intention and that is kaiser. [applause] >> so, i have to say, as a californian, it's been a tough

year to witness this new normal of a changed climate. as an environmentalist, it's been hard to watch what is happening at the national level. it is impossible not to feel not to react. don't it always seem you don't know what you've got until it's gone. but then, i see students, students like the school of the arts chorus, students like those who are rising up against gun violence and marching for their lives. and that awful feeling turns to hope. and then i see the young people who are suing the federal over

climate change because they believe in their right to a healthy planet not polluted by fossil fuels. [applause] and by the way, so do we. so thank you dennis herera a for taking big oil to court and leading cities. this youth movement must be cared for. our department's school education program team reaches more than 25,000 young people every year in our public and our private schools. we talk to students about composting and recycling, about water conservation, preventing litter, and doing what they can to protect nature in the environment. it's how we are empowering the next generation of activists to

stand up and lead. at the department of environment, we are a place where big ideas intersect with how we make people's lives better. and we believe that action matters. that means helping small businesses in the mission district reduce their energy use and save money so they can afford to stay in san francisco. that means protecting the heath of our public housing residents by reducing their exposure to toxic chemicals. and that means going door-to-door to talk to residents and businesses about recycling and composting so materials don't end up in the landfill in the wrong begin or on our streets. we too are rolling up our sleeves, along with our fellow city department heads to address the city's greatest challenges.

ultimately, we want everyone in san francisco to live in a place that is clean and green. we know what we've got in san francisco and we don't want to lose it. and when it comes to rolling up sleeves, i'm reminded of someone whose absence is being felt by so many of us. and that person is mayor ed lee. mayor lee was not about apathy, he was about action. he wanted to know what are you going to do next? it just so happens that i was with the mayor on what would end up being his last press event, because it was the day he died. he had just come back from the chicago climate summit and he was on fire. one of the last things i heard him say was that we must leave

this planet in better shape than we found it. and he knew that our city could do this. he understood the importance of bold ideas, of pushing the envelope because that is what san francisco does. so many significant projects and policies are coming to fruition now because of mayor lee's vision and commitment to action. i often find myself imagining, he is looking down on all of us and smiling in his humble way with pride at what he put in motion. don't it always seem to go. the loss of his leadership is felt and we are inspired by his legacy to continue this work, to continue this work and move

forward. over the next five months, we will be gearing up for governor jerry brown's global climate action summit, which will be held here in san francisco in september. it will be a powerful opportunity to showcase san francisco's values as we share this stage with the rest of the world. and speaking of sharing the stage, today we have with us a special guest from mexico city and i'm really excited to introduce you to her shortly. shows an environmental leader 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! >> look at that beautiful jellyfish. the way to speak to students and motivate them to take action, to save the planet, they do, they care and my job is to speak to them in a way that they can understand that touches their heart and makes them feel

powerful with simple actions to take every day. ♪ ♪ >> i was born and raised in the desert of palm springs, california. my dad was the rabbi in the community there. what i got from watching my father on stage talking to the community was learning how to be in the public. and learning how to do public speaking and i remember the first time i got up to give my first school assembly, i felt my dad over my shoulder saying pause for drama, deliver your words. when i was a kid, i wanted to be a teacher. and then when i got into high school, i decided i wanted to

get into advertising and do graphic art and taglines and stuff like that. by the time i was in college, i decided i wanted to be a decorator. but as i did more work, i realized working my way up meant a lot of physical labor. i only had so much energy to work with for the rest of my life and i could use that energy towards making a lot of money, helping someone else make a lot of money or doing something meaningful. i found the nonprofit working to save the rainforest was looking for volunteers. i went, volunteered and my life changed. suddenly everything i was doing had meaning. stuffing envelopes had meaning, faxing out requests had meaning. i eventually moved up to san francisco to work out of the office here, given a lot of assembly through los angeles county and then came up here and doing assemblies to kids about

rainforest. one of my jobs was to teach about recycle, teaching students to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost, i'm teaching them they have the power, and that motivates them. it was satisfying for me to work with for the department of environment to create a message that gets to the heart of the issue. the san francisco department of environment is the only agency that has a full time educational team, we go into the schools to help teach children how to protect nature and the environment. we realized we needed animal mascot to spark excitement with the students. the city during the gold rush days, the phoenix became part of the city feel and i love the symbolism of the phoenix, about transformation and the message that the theme of the phoenix

provides, we all have the power to transform our world for the better. we have to provide teachers with curriculum online, our curriculum is in two different languages and whether it's lesson plans or student fact sheets, teachers can use them and we've had great feedback. we have helped public and private schools in san francisco increase their waste use and students are working hard to sort waste at the end of the lunch and understand the power of reusing, reducing, recycling and composting. >> great job. >> i've been with the department for 15 years and an environmental educator for more than 23 years and i'm grateful for the work that i get to do, especially on behalf of the city

and county of san francisco. i try to use my voice as intentionally as possible to suppo support, i think of my grandmother who had a positive attitude and looked at things positively. try to do that as well in my work and with my words to be an uplifting force for myself and others. think of entering the job force as a treasure hunt. you can only go to your next clue and more will be revealed. follow your instincts, listen to your gut, follow your heart, do what makes you happy and pragmatic and see where it takes you and get to the next place. trust if you want to do good in this world, that

>> i call this meeting to order.