Turning the Tide on Pollution with a Little Help from Donated IT
Founded in 1989, San Francisco Baykeeper protects the health of San Francisco Bay, its wildlife, and local Bay Area communities. San Francisco Bay is the heart of the Bay Area, surrounded by more than 7 million people and home to hundreds of species of birds, fish, marine mammals, and other wildlife.
It also supports thriving recreational communities of swimmers, sailors, kayakers, windsurfers, and kite boarders. San Francisco Baykeeper's small staff of scientists, attorneys, and advocates works to strengthen clean water laws, act as a watchdog over government, hold polluters accountable, and educate the public about the threat of Bay pollution.
In 2008, it launched a Sick of Sewage Campaign to highlight the regional problem of sewage spills into San Francisco Bay. Every year, millions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage are released into the Bay from crumbling sewer systems flooded by winter rains. San Francisco Baykeeper has cleaned up polluting sewer systems throughout the Bay Area and helped educate regulators and the public about how to help stop sewage spills into the Bay.
San Francisco Baykeeper also works to improve oil spill planning and response efforts. It played a major role in responding to the Cosco Busan spill in 2007, which released 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay, coating shorelines and harming wildlife. Now the organization is helping to plan for the effects of climate change in the Bay by helping cities prepare for sea level rise on their shorelines.
The donations received via TechSoup have allowed San Francisco Baykeeper to modernize its office, generate educational materials, develop pollution prevention programs, and manage a vast amount of data to turn the tide on Bay pollution.
