Robyn Purchia

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Peter Fiekowsky and Erica Dodds, (left) leaders of Healthy Climate Alliance, presented their work to a packed room at the Commonwealth Club last week. (Courtesy Healthy Climate Alliance)

Finding high-tech solutions to the Arctic ice meltdown

Despite cold temperatures and even snow in the Bay Area, climate change…

Peter Fiekowsky and Erica Dodds, (left) leaders of Healthy Climate Alliance, presented their work to a packed room at the Commonwealth Club last week. (Courtesy Healthy Climate Alliance)
Before working on Sea Ranch, architect George Homsey, built his Dolores Heights home according to the same principles as the groundbreaking development. Natural light pours into windows and skylights, and the home is built almost entirely of wood. (Special to S.F. Examiner/Robyn Purchia)

Breaking out of the single-family house mold

In 1964, a group of Bay Area architects decided to reject the…

Before working on Sea Ranch, architect George Homsey, built his Dolores Heights home according to the same principles as the groundbreaking development. Natural light pours into windows and skylights, and the home is built almost entirely of wood. (Special to S.F. Examiner/Robyn Purchia)
Plastic shotgun wads, used to separate the shot from powder, litter beaches. (Courtesy photo)

It’s too early to ban environmentally-damaging shotgun shell components

On Baker Beach last week, Anna Kauffman picked up 23 pieces of…

Plastic shotgun wads, used to separate the shot from powder, litter beaches. (Courtesy photo)
One household's 10,000 pounds of belongings were redistributed among charities and others. (Courtesy photo)

A couple’s lifetime of possessions find new homes

Refusing plastic straws and carrying a reusable water bottle is good for…

One household's 10,000 pounds of belongings were redistributed among charities and others. (Courtesy photo)
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks during the 116th Congress on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 3, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/TNS)

It’s time for Pelosi to endorse the Green New Deal

On a sunny, but wet morning, activists gathered recently in San Francisco’s…

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks during the 116th Congress on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 3, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/TNS)
Uber and Lyft rides represent a growing portion of The City and state’s transportation network. To electrify this network, it’s necessary to increase access to charging stations. (Courtesy photo)

Why electric cars make sense for Uber, Lyft drivers in San Francisco

On a recent cold, San Francisco day, Marcel Espia picked me up…

Uber and Lyft rides represent a growing portion of The City and state’s transportation network. To electrify this network, it’s necessary to increase access to charging stations. (Courtesy photo)
Do the right thing with your post-Christmas waste. (Courtesy photo)

‘Twas the day after Christmas and oh, what a mess

‘Twas the day after Christmas, when all through the flat Not a…

Do the right thing with your post-Christmas waste. (Courtesy photo)
In 1969, native Americans occupied Alcatraz for 19 months over a failed proposal to build a cultural center there. They still await a center in The City. (Getty Images)

Will native Americans finally get a cultural center in San Francisco?

Last week, the sound of beating drums echoed within City Hall as…

In 1969, native Americans occupied Alcatraz for 19 months over a failed proposal to build a cultural center there. They still await a center in The City. (Getty Images)
More than 100 volunteers took part in the 13th annual Presidio Planting Day, planting more than 2,800 native plants in the Tennessee Hollow Watershed. (Courtesy Dan Friedman)

Presidio habitat restoration effort plants seeds of hope

El Polin Spring was bubbling last Saturday with 133 volunteers ready to…

More than 100 volunteers took part in the 13th annual Presidio Planting Day, planting more than 2,800 native plants in the Tennessee Hollow Watershed. (Courtesy Dan Friedman)
A fisherman sells live Dungeness crab in Half Moon Bay during the 2016 season. (Courtesy photo)

The news is not all good when it comes to this year’s Dungeness crab season

Joy to the world! San Francisco’s markets and menus are stocked with…

A fisherman sells live Dungeness crab in Half Moon Bay during the 2016 season. (Courtesy photo)
Too many holiday presents hurt the environment. Saturday’s zero waste holiday market will provide more eco-friendly gift ideas. (Courtesy photo)

Consider the environment when you buy gifts this holiday season

Many San Francisco parents were grateful for the rain last week and…

Too many holiday presents hurt the environment. Saturday’s zero waste holiday market will provide more eco-friendly gift ideas. (Courtesy photo)
For months, members of the Episcopal Diocese of California, which covers the San Francisco Bay Area, have grappled with how to lower their environmental “foodprint.” (Courtesy photo)

Struggling with the responsibility to reduce our ‘foodprint’

Tomorrow is a chance for San Franciscans to express gratitude, not only…

For months, members of the Episcopal Diocese of California, which covers the San Francisco Bay Area, have grappled with how to lower their environmental “foodprint.” (Courtesy photo)
The outline of a mobile homes is all that remains in the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park in Paradise, Calif., where a team recovered one victim on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018 as the search continues for victims of the Camp Fire. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Wildfires underline need to diversify California’s water supply

Fast burning fires, aided by strong, east winds and low humidity, devastated…

The outline of a mobile homes is all that remains in the Ridgewood Mobile Home Park in Paradise, Calif., where a team recovered one victim on Monday, Nov. 12, 2018 as the search continues for victims of the Camp Fire. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
In Copenhagen, more than half of the bike commuters are women, but in San Francisco, female riders face challenges to being green. (Courtesy photos)

New S.F. study opens door to exploring gender differences in environmental policies

Some San Franciscans remember a life in the 1950s before our “throwaway…

In Copenhagen, more than half of the bike commuters are women, but in San Francisco, female riders face challenges to being green. (Courtesy photos)
Courtesy photo

S.F. needs a can – do attitude toward creating a public bank

Two years ago, unarmed protesters of the Dakota Access oil pipeline were…

Courtesy photo
“It’s a really tricky situation, the scarier you make climate change the more people freeze.” (Courtesy photo)

Only thing scarier than climate change report is not acting on it

As Halloween approaches, San Franciscans welcome scary decorations, movies and haunted houses.…

“It’s a really tricky situation, the scarier you make climate change the more people freeze.” (Courtesy photo)
Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School students give tours of their new stormwater garden at the school in the Sunset District on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. (DavÌd RodrÌguez/Special to S.F. Examiner)

Diversifying San Francisco’s water supply

Last week, students at Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School celebrated a more…

Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School students give tours of their new stormwater garden at the school in the Sunset District on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. (DavÌd RodrÌguez/Special to S.F. Examiner)
Supervisor Aaron Peskin, center, met with the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation last week to discuss diminishing the use of plastic to-go containers in The City. (Courtesy Robyn Purchia)

Peskin talks trash at Surfrider meeting, promises new plastic ban

San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin delivered a glimmer of hope last week…

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, center, met with the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation last week to discuss diminishing the use of plastic to-go containers in The City. (Courtesy Robyn Purchia)
Recommendations to shore up Ocean Beach are getting closer to reality. Courtesy/Bill McLaughlin

Help for Ocean Beach may be near

While Bill McLaughlin and other San Francisco surfers always enjoy the powerful…

Recommendations to shore up Ocean Beach are getting closer to reality. Courtesy/Bill McLaughlin
Thanks to two San Francisco men and others, these shipping containers in Niger will be outfitted as incubators for the endangered North African ostrich. (Courtesy Peter Retonado)

Two workout pals work to save endangered ostrich species

Stephen Gold, a San Francisco contractor, and Henry Cundill, a recent business…

Thanks to two San Francisco men and others, these shipping containers in Niger will be outfitted as incubators for the endangered North African ostrich. (Courtesy Peter Retonado)