In response to Al Gore’s ‘Challenge to Repower America‘, what better time to introduce a solution than now. Last week, Mr. Gore challenged Americans to become carbon-independent within the next ten years. Of course, the first response from many people is that this challenge is ‘too ambitious’ or that ‘it can’t be done’. Well, my response is that it CAN be done and plans have ALREADY been progressing in San Francisco to implement measures that can achieve Mr.Gore’s goal.

Since October 2007, a sustainable tourism program has been brought forth as one such solution for San Francisco. Tourism is the largest industry in San Francisco, that also directly and indirectly reaches EVERY other industry sector. In addition, San Francisco is world-renown for its innovative and progressive environmental conservation programs. However, no direct measures are taken to incorporate the tourism industry with the municipal conservation programs. But, by integrating the conservation and tourism sectors, the result is a sustainable industry with far-reaching impacts on the success of environmental programs. In addition to tourism’s cross-sector influence, the nature of tourism provides outreach and grassroots opportunities to impact and instill change among tourists and residents. Therefore, no other industry provides an all-encompassing opportunity to catalyze change on the scale that Mr. Gore has presented to the American community. By making San Francisco’s tourism industry sustainable - it can in turn make San Francisco a 100% clean-energy city. San Francisco has the capacity to be the city to catalzye change in the United States’ tourism industry and meet Mr. Gore’s landmark challenge.

To date, the proposed sustainable tourism program, Travel Tree, has been presented to key stakeholders such as the SF Mayor’s Office and The San Francisco Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (SFCVB). Stanford’s Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (CESD) has partnered with Travel Tree, in providing support to research and develop the program for San Francisco. If you are interested in finding out more or supporting Travel Tree, visit www.traveltree.org or contact Rosalyn at rsalters@traveltree.org.

Are you aware that San Francisco’s #1 industry is tourism? Keeping that in mind, think about what makes this city a top destination and the influence tourism has on other industries, society, daily life and the environment.

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Often, I sit in my living room and feel part of some live exhibit, as the Trolley Hop full of curious tourists drives past the window. This modified safari-style tour is just one of the many eclectic and unique ways to tour San Francisco. Statistics indicate the high popularity of this destination, but what really intrigues the business woman from Portland or British family to travel to this location? Perhaps one is drawn by the city’s distinct image as a small, hilly, culturally diverse and picturesque location. The exquisite scenery and atmosphere is attributed to the Victorian architecture, moderate climate and abundance of natural landscapes located within and surrounding the city. Signature attractions that allure travelers include; the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz, cable cars, Fisherman’s Wharf, Lombard Street and Muir Woods. Additionally, the City comprises a plethora of festivals, music, performing arts, conferences and other activities. The abundance of attractions and activities, in combination with the transcendent atmosphere, captivates anyone who visits San Francisco.

San Francisco is often referred to as ‘everybody’s favorite city.’ According to a poll in the Travel and Leisure magazine, the city ranks third for favorite American cities to visit. For many San Franciscans, it is surprising to know that tourism is the City’s largest employer and supports more jobs than finance, insurance, information and legal services. The SFCVB Research Foundation’s recent 2006 information shows that visitor volume generated $7.76 billion from the 15.8 million annual visitors. Where does all of this money go? Well, the immense quantity of visitor dollars is directly siphoned to local hotels, shops, restaurants, transportation, entertainment and cultural establishments. Indirectly, tourism revenue augments the majority of other economic sectors and also contributes to government finances. On a whole, San Francisco’s internationally acclaimed status and high quality of life for residents, is due in large part to the thriving tourism industry.

However, the underlying component often overlooked in past tourism initiatives is the industry’s integration with environment-based sectors. The natural and physical environment is the base on which tourism relies, yet is often neglected and negatively impacted. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, “tourism’s three main impact areas are natural resources, pollution and physical impacts.” All three impact areas are contributors to a superseding concern - tourism’s affect on climate change. The consumption of fossil fuels and energy is the most significant environmental problem related to tourism. As Lund University scientists state, “transport contributes over proportionally to the overall environmental impact of leisure-tourism; between 60% and 95% at the journey level, and including local transport, accommodation and activities.” Therefore, as we research tourism’s impact on climate change, each city and major destination must incorporate mitigation measures as a central component of operations. For regions dominated by tourism, such as San Francisco, this substantiates the urgency to implement this crucial oversight. As reinforced by the United Nations during the recent Davos Declaration, the UN urges the international tourism sector to respond promptly to climate change.

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Ironically, tourism is the main economic generator in San Francisco yet is not incorporated in climate change measures (a slight oversight but not entirely despondent). So, what should be done to ensure San Francisco will remain a wonderful place to visit and live? How can we guarantee what provides most for the City’s economic wellbeing does not hinder the welfare for future generations? One conjecture of certainty is the fact that continual environmental damage will diminish the quality of San Francisco - thus, no longer remaining “everybody’s favorite city’.