In this paper, we explore the idea of reducing taxes on good things — economic growth and job creation — and replacing them with taxes on bad things, or environmentally harmful activities.

We all know "the big one" is coming. But are we ready? It's a question we must confront now, with boldness and with honesty: what will it take to make San Francisco a resilient city?

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is finalizing its sewer system plan. SPUR recommends a system that is quite different than the old one. This is our chance to update our approach to managing rainwater.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s proposed contract with J-Power to operate “peaker” combustion turbine power plants in southeast San Francisco is a harmful and short-sighted solution to local energy production and reliability. Peakers are expensive and polluting, and the southeast neighborhoods have long borne the brunt of the city’s environmental health hazards. San Francisco can meet reliability goals through new cable projects, energy efficiency and demand management. We urge the Board of Supervisors to reject peakers and the contract.

Instead of wasting stormwater, the City could manage it as a resource. SPUR explores four strategies that allow for greater stormwater storage and infiltration of rainwater into the ground.

Brian O'Neill is Superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), one of the largest urban national parks in the world, with over 75,000 acres of land and 28 miles of coastline. The park itself is over twice as large as San Francisco. O'Neill, a long-time SPUR Board member, is recognized for his leadership in the Bay Area environmental community and as an international…