SF has declared an emergency due to the coastal erosion happening at Sloat blvd. and the Great Highway. If you enjoy the beach, and give a rats ass about our local government making sound, sustainable, policy in regards to our environment then you may want to read this and sign the petition!

SurfPulse Save Sloat!

One solution to this erosion, which has been used previously up and down the california coastline is to “armor” the coast with rip-rap (lg boulders) or sea walls. Both of which have been proven to be effective in the short term. These “solutions” also have been proven to simply relocate the problem, up or down the coast. E.g. putting rip-rap at Sloat will simply accelerate erosion of the beach, north and south.

From Nov. last year, but posted recently as a NASA image of the day we bring you a killer 3D view of the San Andreas Fault running up the peninsula and out to see north of Pacifica. This project is about mapping which parts of the fault are creeping past each other with little “stickiness,” and which parts appear to be locked together—places where pent-up stress may be released suddenly in a major earthquake.

San Andreas Fault Satellite Imagery

To read more about NASA’s mission to map the San Andreas and related faults with radar imagery, please read Scientists Search for a Pulse in Skies Above Earthquake Country.

Earlier today the Mayor signed into law the nations most ‘stringent’ green building codes, for both residential and commercial construction. This being a continuing effort by the mayor to put San Francisco in the spotlight when it comes to progressive politics. All politics is local as they say, and energy policy is probably the most pressing issue the world is facing today.

From the Chron earlier today:

The new codes are to be phased in by 2012. Projects will be evaluated on a point system with credit given for materials used in the building, the location of the building site and water and energy efficiencies…..

Despite those predictions, the city’s Office of Economic Analysis estimated that the new codes would cost the city between $30 million and $700 million a year in economic output, as it could lead to higher rents and businesses choosing to locate elsewhere.

Newsom called that report inaccurate and predicted the new regulations would actually attract businesses to the city. That opinion was echoed by Phil Williams, an executive at San Mateo-based Webcor Builders, who sat on the city task force on green building that developed the new regulations.

The LEED certifications for green building will apply to larger projects, both residential and commercial and the Greenpoint system will apply to smaller projects.

The opposition are crying that the added expense will further drive up the cost of owning a home or a business in SF, and I cry bullshit on that. For far too long people have not paid the true cost of housing, energy and other resources. And this is where government certainly has a role, protecting the commons.

There will be cost savings aplenty as people fall in line with the added up front expense of building to codes that make sense in today’s world.

Elsewhere:

• Greener than thou:San Francisco Seals the deal on Green Building [SF Curbed]
• San Francisco Takes The LEED (And GreenPoint) On Building Codes [SocketSite]

Photograph CC by Chance Gardener.

I saw that occasional SF Metblogs contributor and relentless self promoter and sex book author Violet Blue is the latest recipient of the tempest in a web teapot award. The LA Times website has David Sarno covering a fracas in which any Violet Blue mentions or posts have been deleted from Boing Boing and it’s archives.

Writes Sarno:

“I’ve been wracking my brain thinking of what issues I might’ve come down on the wrong side of,” Blue told me on the phone. “There’s been no argument, there’s been no disagreement, no flame war, none of the usual things.”

Could Boing Boing really be a Stalin era throwback that wants to erase it’s own history, and somehow have the world to believe the widely read SF Gate columnist doesn’t exist?

At AdRants they speculated a possible conflict with blog ad provider Federated Media, which seemed somewhat unlikely to be involved in editorial concerns (IMHO ) since they supply ads for dozens of popular sites including the Metblogs network.

BoingBoing eventually issued it’s own terse comment and explanation after the web “sh*tstorm” lapped up on it’s serenely acerbic shores:

Read the LA times blog, or for a more concise semi ad biz related wrap up read more at AdRants.

In an effort to keep church and state separate I give you the Ten Commandments of SF!

1. Thou shalt always vote on principal and not political party
2. Thou shall move your family to the suburbs when your children are of school age
3. Thou shalt always have an earthquake preparedness kit in your home
4. Thou shalt drive a hybrid car
5. Thou shalt always yield to a bike if driving, and a ped if driving/biking
6. Thou shalt not pay for muni
7. Thou shall hate the dodgers like the devil himself/herself. Unless of course you are a satanist. Then thou shall hate the dodgers like god himself/herself
8. Thou shalt be tolerant, to the point of absurdity
9. Thou shalt pickup after your pooch, homeless denizen, drunk buddy defecates
10. Thou shalt keep your winter clothes out of storage all summer long

See things differently? Let’s hear your commandments in the comments!

h/t to David at the LA Metblog.

Juvenile Raven(s), Inner Sunset.

An amazing day at the park last week, been offline for a few days, otherwise I would have had this up sooner. Nice to see the Giants on a tear for a change. In this shot Aaron Rowand is attempting to pwn John Maine. Enjoy!

A couple of weeks back we posted about a court battle that is raging in sf between a tenant and his alleged slumlords. The alleged were brought up on criminal charges and were jailed at the time with an amazingly high bail for their crimes. The judge has decided to lower bail and the fur is still flying as the husband paid bail and the wife sat in jail. And I guess the Chron published a picture of one of the accused today, although I missed that, maybe in the paper today?

Prosecutor Max Peltz urged that bail remain the same, saying Morrow was hardly a vexatious litigant. He also stressed that Morrow was just one of four tenants who allegedly had been victimized by the Macys.
Peltz said that over nine years, Morrow has filed four legal actions: a still-pending lawsuit against the Macys, one against the building’s prior owners in which he won a settlement, and the failed request for restraining orders against both Macys. Labeling Morrow a vexatious litigant was a baseless effort to “malign the victim,” Peltz said.

Bail cut for S.F. landlords in tenant terror case.

Thank you to the mayor and thank you to all the great people who lobbied and supported the right for all people to be married in the eyes of the law. Proud to be a californian today.

Great MLK quote from Dennis Herrera, “The arc of history is long, and it bends toward justice”.

Go Connecticut Go!

Here’s some video footage of the Gav at city hall yesterday.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=d4Ke8gEc4Hs[/youtube]

More video and poll after the jump

Want to get involved with the greening of San Francisco, need to work off some of that consumer guilt you have been carrying around all year?

The 2008 NEN Clean & Green Summit will feature…

• A resource fair featuring dozens of agencies & non profits committed to helping you make a difference in your community
• Five different break out groups that you can pre-register for online
• How to use Solar and Wind to power your home and /or business
• Rainwater Harvesting: How you can capture rainwater to use in your garden
• Demystifying the community challenge grant process
• How to build community in your neighborhood around being cleaner and greener
• How to make your home more earth friendly
• Walking tours of the Mission including a stop at the “Greenest” home in San Francisco – truly an amazing structure!

Date: Saturday May 31st, 2008
Location: Cesar Chavez Elementary School (23rd St. and Folsom).
Cost: FREE

A lunch will be provided by Norcal and the California Culinary Academy to registrants.

Schedule and Links