Guilt. Feelings of obligation. Perhaps an eye roll. These are some reactions to seeing a blue recycling bin in public. Convenience is everything, right? A person can easily throw away a plastic bottle in the trash can that will always be within 10 feet of them. If one’s city is not very environmentally conscious, those blue bins are less common and more inconvenient.
But San Francisco is one step ahead of other cities.
The citywide effort, in a combination of individual motivation and laws, appears to be world changing. Even though San Francisco’s consensus across communities lead the city very far, the divide with the rest of the world prevails.
The Laws
In 2002, San Francisco set two major environmental goals: produce zero waste by 2020 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050. In an attempt to reach their immense sustainability goals, San Francisco passed laws requiring the composting and recycling of metal and fabric in addition to the usual paper and plastic. The city also banned plastic bags in 2007, permitting only reusable ones.
Kyle Bashour, a new San Franciscan resident, admits that the laws are “a little inconvenient,” but he’s “happy to comply.”
However, San Francisco seems to be aware that its sustainability programs may be inconvenient, and try to make participation as expedient as possible. The city provides free compost buckets and bin labels, consultations, etc., so that people like Bashour are 'happy to comply.'
The Individuals
San Franciscans and others share a glimpse into their lives, demonstrating that it's the little things that matter.
"People kid me about doing all the recycling at home but there’s a reason for it." -John Trasviña (California)
"We have bought stainless steel straws at home and we use those and no plastic straws." -Saloni Sachdev (Texas)
"Part of our country’s quota towards going more green is of course trying to get people out of cars, out on bikes, walking…" -Alan Tiwana (United Kingdom)
"I get very upset when my kids throw paper in a normal bin I would say it should go in the recycling bin." -Sachdev
"I’m sure we waste so much using plastic bags." -Kia Smithwilk (North Carolina)
"We have just stopped buying water bottles; we carry our own water bottles." -Sachdev
Global warming cannot be put on one person, country or continent. It is a problem that everyone carries on their shoulders, and one that will weigh everyone down. San Francisco contains 870,887 people, which is .011% of the world’s population. Can one relatively smaller city make a difference?
The 10 most eco-friendly cities in the world make up .12 percent of the entire population. 9,158,144 people try the best that they can to protect the environment. There are people who are not in these cities that could be classified as eco-friendly, but for the sake of having a number, 100 percent of the human race create waste and a carbon footprint, but only a little bit more than .12 percent do everything they can to combat their output.
One Against the Rest of the World
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the commission responsible for, in simplistic terms, reducing global warming. The Paris Climate Agreement, the newest global effort to fight climate change, set a goal to keep the rising global temperature from pre-industrial times below two degrees, and ideally, 1.5 degrees.
Evidence shows that “production and and use of energy by individuals, businesses and governments, and from land use” causes global warming, and the UNFCCC works to decrease humans’ traces (on the basis of the precautionary principle). All 197 countries contribute to climate change; climate change affects all 197 countries. The UNFCCC calls for global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions because only global action can make a difference.
The goal encourages a 60 percent decrease in global emissions by 2050 to reach the Paris Agreement’s goal. Industrial countries should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent. These numbers portray that though San Francisco’s reduction of carbon emissions is better than others (with a 29 percent reduction in 26 years, despite a population increase of 20 percent), they need the rest of the country to take the same measures. The city is .27 percent of the US population, so 324,829,113 more people must take the same strides as them to reduce their carbon footprints.
For San Franciscans, and those who are just as environmentally conscious, the idea that global warming requires a global effort may seem discouraging. Is a community of 7.6 billion people possible?
The Paris Climate Agreement may be seen as a huge stride for mother nature; 196 countries signed it. But what does that really mean?
It means that 196 countries said ‘Yeah, climate change is happening; we’ll take care of it.’ Australia, who signed the agreement, put forward the bare minimum goal of reduction to be considered making a contribution. So, the “huge stride,” really does not do anything without a country’s personal motivation, which can be just as “faulty” as individual motivation.
Essentially, San Francisco and other select cities do everything in their capacity to be environmentally conscious, but it does not make a difference unless everyone else is doing that as well.
Carrying On, Dragging Feet or Not
So, what is the point of even trying? Why should one person go out of their way to put a cola can in the recycling when it won’t make a difference in global warming? It seems incredibly hopeless, but surprisingly, people are not demoralized.
“I don’t think it’s discouraging because like you said everyone has to be doing it so in order for everyone to be doing it I have to be doing it," Bashour said.
Although the numbers point to a necessary global effort, they do not belittle individual efforts. Those who find personal motivation to practice sustainability can be seen as the the starting points of the movement. The global effort needs to start somewhere.
Though the reality of the situation does not offer much comfort, the other way provides just as little hope. If every individual stops their personal efforts for sustainability with the thought that one person can’t make a difference, then no one will be doing anything. Zero percent is even farther from a global effort than .12 percent of the population.
Climate change has not yet reached a point of inevitability, so the situation is not hopeless. John Trasviña, Barack Obama’s assistant secretary of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, said that San Francisco has made progress by connecting racial and gender communities throughout the city.
“People working together is really the key to solving anything,” he said.