Fleet Week’s a reminder of ways to take care of San Francisco Bay
The Bay gives us dramatic scenery, nourishes our wildlife and moderates our weather. We shouldn’t take the Bay for granted butmost of us do. So this weekend we also celebrate the second annual BayDay, anofficial holiday declared by 40 Bay Area cities and counties to honor this magnificent place we call home.
This week, the Bay Area is again the place for outdoor celebrations large and small.
Tens of thousands will cheer at the Cal-UCLA game, honor our military during Fleet Week on the Embarcadero, or rock out at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park. Hundreds will race by foot, bike or sailboat and many more will hike Mount Diablo or Mission Peak.
Outdoor events draw millions of residents and tourists to the Bay Area each year, part of the $9.7 billion in annual visitor spending that is a huge engine for our economy.
And San Francisco Bay is the center of it all, our great natural treasure in a dynamic metropolis.
The Bay gives us dramatic scenery, nourishes our wildlife and moderates our weather. We shouldn’t take the Bay for granted but most of us do. So this weekend we also celebrate the second annual Bay Day, an official holiday declared by 40 Bay Area cities and counties to honor this magnificent place we call home. Bay Day features free shoreline events for ev- eryone on Saturday, from Jack London Square to Angel Island, and beyond.
Nature and open space make our region healthier and richer but we nearly destroyed it before rallying to save it. We drove wildlife to extinction by damming rivers, clear- cutting forests, mining hillsides and almost filling in San Francisco Bay. Only the tireless efforts of many residents joining together stopped the dev- astation before it was too late, halting Bay fill, closing shoreline dumps, banning DDT and treating raw sewage.
We united to save majestic redwoods, hillside vistas and scenic shorelines, prompting eagles and pelicans, porpoises and whales to return to the Bay. Now a massive habitat restoration project is turning brown Bay salt ponds to lush marshes, teeming with fish and waterfowl. And we increased public access to nature, with a necklace of shoreline and hillside parks, connected by hundreds of miles of Bay and Ridge Trails.
But the Bay is still threatened by pollution, climate change and our growing population. Plastic trash flows from our streets into creeks and the Bay. Rising sea levels and more intense storms increase flood risks. Freshwater diversions from upstream endanger salmon and other fish.
To meet these challenges and create a healthy Bay, we all have to appreciate how much the Bay provides us. Start by finding a free Bay Day event to attend Saturday, or create your own Bay Day experience at www.bayday.org.
You can also be “Bay Smart” by using water efficiently, producing less trash, volunteering on the shoreline and reducing your carbon footprint.
Tell your elected officials at home, in Sacramento, and Washington, D.C., to do more for the Bay and the Bay Area’s natural places and vote as if the Bay depends on it — because it does.
Whether you get outside with thousands, with family, or alone, don’t take the Bay for granted. The Bay we love deserves a tribute at least once a year from all of us who benefit from it. After all, without the Bay, we’d just be “The Area.”