Latest news with #SanFranciscoEnvironmentDepartment
Axios
02-05-2025
- General
- Axios
Cooped up: Why raising urban chickens may take time to pay off
Raising chickens has increased in popularity among Americans as a means to save money on food costs, increase self-sufficiency and avoid high egg prices. For many, it also produces eggs that are a healthier alternative to in-store options, avoids certain practices that can lead to disease and reduces pests and insects in gardens. What they're saying:"The world is changing because of climate change, viruses and practices that don't help support resilient animals," said Jamie Chan, a San Francisco native who's executive director of the Planet Bee Foundation. " The urgency to have secure food resources like this is perhaps greater also because of the occurrence of (food) shortages." Zoom in: While the San Francisco Environment Department doesn't track the number of backyard chickens, the city limits residents to four hens and prohibits roosters. No permit is required, but coops must be at least 20 feet away from any entrance or window of a residential building, according to health code standards. By the numbers: 11 million U.S. households now have backyard chickens — a 28% increase from 2023, according to the American Pet Products Association. Between the lines: Though egg production rates vary, Chan said, chickens in their prime can produce one egg per day over an 18- to 24-month period. Other experts have told Axios two hens can produce anywhere between 48 to 84 eggs over six months. Chickens take breaks during the winter. Production also tends to slow as they age. New chicken farmers can expect to see their flocks begin production within a few months, Chan said. Yes, but: Caring for the birds instead of buying eggs at the store can still be expensive. Supplies for food, upkeep and a coop to get started with just two hens can cost about $600, excluding the cost of the birds themselves. Chickens are also susceptible to viruses like the bird flu, fleas and other health issues, which is why vaccinations, clean living conditions and protecting a flock from contact with wild animals is important to reducing risks. Though urban settings like San Francisco tend to have lower disease transmission risks compared with large farming operations, Chan said, it's also important to secure coops from predators such as raccoons and coyotes. The bottom line: "If we all had our own food security in our own backyards, we would actually be a more resilient community. So maybe it doesn't need to be considered a trend. It needs to be considered as a plan for making our city a much more sustainable and food sovereign place," Chan added.
Axios
24-03-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
Revel reemerges in San Francisco with its first EV fast chargers on West Coast
Revel, a New-York based EV charging startup, launched its first network of high-speed chargers in San Francisco on Monday, with plans to expand rapidly across the Bay Area by the end of the year. Why it matters: Building a robust network of public EV chargers is crucial to helping San Francisco meet its ambitious climate goals of electrifying 25% of all private vehicles by 2030 and 100% by 2040. The city also hopes to reach net-zero carbon emissions by that year. Driving the news: The company — mostly known in the city for its discontinued electric moped service — opened its first West Coast-based EV charging hub in the city's Mission District with 12 publicly-available DC-fast chargers. Between the lines: San Francisco has one of the highest EV ownership rates in the U.S, with more than 35% of new vehicle sales being electric in 2024. Nationwide, the average hovers around 8%. What they're saying:"Our goal is to build urban fast charging that all EV drivers can rely on," Paul Suhey, Revel's co-founder and COO, said at Monday's ribbon-cutting ceremony. "San Francisco is open for business and I'm excited to be here with Revel, a company that shares our vision to electrify transport and reduce emissions in our city," Mayor Daniel Lurie said, who added that the chargers will help speed up adoption of EV ownership. How it works: Each charger has a 320 kW capacity, with the ability to charge a car to about 80% in about 20 minutes to an hour. Charging prices start at 59 cents a kilowatt hour. The big picture: The company's announcement follows a two-year hiatus in San Francisco since 2023 after which it re-pivoted its business towards building out large public fast-charging networks. Revel currently operates 100 EV chargers in New York. By the numbers: The city currently has 1,152 public EV chargers with plans to expand to at least 1,750 by 2030, according to Joseph Piasecki, a spokesperson at the San Francisco Environment Department. 962 of those are slower level two chargers, while the remaining 190 are DC fast chargers. That means the city will need to build 158 more fast chargers and 450 more level two chargers to get to the 2030 goal, Piasecki added. In total, SF has more than 3,400 public and shared private chargers, according to state estimates. What's next: The company plans on building six more charging stations across the Bay Area this year, with South San Francisco, Oakland and downtown San Francisco each receiving two.
