By Wayne Freedman
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Concern over global warming has a lot of people concerned with how they deal the very real possibility of rising sea levels. Who better to give advice than those living right now below sea level? The Dutch have discovered that their experience with bad geography might create healthy profits. >> Read the full story

By Lyanne Melendez

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA (KGO) — Green technology is sparking hope that could help pull California out of a recession. On Friday, the governor visited a synthetic biology company in South San Francisco. But will the so-called “green jobs” really drive the economy? >> Read the full story

By Wayne Freedman
FREMONT, CA (KGO) — In Fremont on Wednesday night, workers at a startup celebrated a new deal with Nissan. Their company is just a short distance from the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc., or NUMMI, plant owned by Toyota. The small startup hopes to play a big role in the car business. In a time and a place where manufacturing feels as if it’s disappearing, here is a reason for hope. >> Read the full story

SAN JOSE, CA (KGO) — Bay Area-based eBay has found a way to provide employees with a host of benefits at a very low cost. It’s giving workers a chance to raise their pay and raise workplace morale while raising crops at its San Jose campus. >> Read the full story

By David Louie

PALO ALTO, CA (KGO) — A federal agency has issued an alarming report that mercury contamination in fish has become widespread across the country, including Northern California. Many people fish for recreation; they also eat what they catch. But the U.S. Geological Survey says they also could be ingesting unhealthy levels of mercury. >> Read the full story

A2B electric bike test rides
Through June
Various locations
Ultra Motor is bringing its A2B electric bike to communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now through June, Ultra Motor will be at events, corporations, and universities in select neighborhoods encouraging consumers to experience the exhilaration of riding an A2B, the electric bike that is changing the way consumers think about short trips…to the store, to the park with friends, or commuting to work. A complete list of events and dates can be found at www.ultramotor.com/sf.

Greenv Sustainable Center of South San Francisco Announces Grand Opening and Earth Day
April 18; 9:00 am until 5:00 pm
1 Chestnut Avenue, South San Francisco
Approximately one mile from the South San Francisco BART station
The Greenv Sustainable Center of South San Francisco invites the public to celebrate Earth Day a little early this year. The center will host a grand opening event designed to showcase the center’s commitment to green living, green businesses, and the green community. the event will kick off at 9:30 am with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and speech by Karyl Matsumoto, mayor of South San Francisco. At 11:00 am, David Gottfried, founder of the U.S. Green Building Council, will give the keynote speech. The Greenv Sustainable Center grand opening also will feature seminars, sustainable product demonstrations, live music, organic food and beverages, and kid-friendly activities, including a visit by a mobile science lab.

Community Clean Team Event in District 7 & 8 — Earth Day
April 18
Time: 9 am to 1 pm
Location: School of the Art and Twin Peaks Observation Point
Description: Join The Community Clean Team to celebrate the Earth Day. Together, we can make San Francisco a world-class city.
For More Information: 641-2600 or log on to www.sfgov.org/dpw

Neighborhood Solar Champions Training Course
April 18, 2009, 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
PG&E’s Pacific Energy Center
851 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Cost: Free! (lunch provided)
Would you like to become a Solar Champion in your neighborhood? The San Francisco Department of the Environment and PG&E are offering free solar training for SF citizens interested in helping spread the word about solar in their neighborhoods.

To Register:
1. Go to http://www.pge.com/mybusiness/edusafety/training/pec/classes/ or call (415) 973-2277 and register for the “Solar Power Basics for Residential Customers” class on Saturday, April 18.
AND
2. RSVP to Johanna Partin, SF Department of the Environment by email or telephone: johanna.partin@sfgov.org, (415) 355-3715

Greener by Design: Greener Products for Leaner Times
May 19-20, 2009
The Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA
415 512-1111
Despite tough economic times, some of the world’s best-known companies are gaining a competitive advantage by aligning environmental thinking, innovation, and affordability to bring green products to the mainstream. Top executives from these organizations will gather in San Francisco on May 19-20 to share their strategies and best practices at Greener By Design 2009, the annual sustainable design forum produced by Greener World Media, Inc. and GreenerDesign.com. Keynote speakers include designer William McDonough, co-creator of the Cradle to Cradle design protocol, and Tom Szaky, founder and CEO of TerraCycle, whose innovative company makes more than 50 consumer products from waste products, partnering with companies like Kraft, Hershey’s, Frito-Lay, and Starbucks.

SAN JOSE, Calif.  — California recycling is at a record high with 58 percent of all the state’s waste being recycled, not dumped in landfills. But, one group is still lagging behind: People who live in apartments.

So, the City of San Jose launched a new program to turn that around and the results are dramatic. Recycling is a way of life in most of the Bay Area now.

> Watch Now

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — By 2011, California is expected to begin trading carbon credits on an open market. It is a potentially valuable commodity that even Congress wants a slice of. But what if they gave you cash instead?

Scientists increasingly say our planet is heating up largely because of carbon dioxide emissions.

Watch Now

By Wayne Freedman
KGO-San Francisco

SOLANO COUNTY, CALIF. — Among the mentions in President Obama’s speech Tuesday night was a need to develop sources of clean energy. Wind power fits into that category and the Bay Area plays a large role in it. Now, the wind footprint is about to get much bigger.

Enexco will hold a formal dedication of its Shiloh II project on Thursday, but the turbines are already online.

There was a time when the hills of Solano County would have been the last place anyone might look for economic stimulation.

> Watch Now

BERKELEY, Calif.  — President Obama told the Department of Energy to come up with new energy standards for household appliances. He sees energy efficiency as a win-win situation, saving money while fighting global warming.

Researchers at Berkeley clearly see what the President is talking about.

The window of the future looks just like an ordinary window, unless one looks closely.

> Watch Now

DAVIS, CA — In Dr. Mary Delaney’s office at the University of California, Davis there is a basket of chicken eggs on one of the tables. They are not the kind you buy in a store or crack for breakfast, but the variety tells a story. “They could be reflective of the gene pool; you see the diversity in color, size, shape,” Delaney said.

> Watch Now