

Make Your Water Heater Work for You, Plus a SNEW Project Highlight
Learn about ways you can save energy and money through the WatterSaver program and how SNEW services are helping our community.
Project Manager, Climate & Energy
Communities in the Sierra Nevada have weathered many storms over the years, most recently the local impacts of climate change, catastrophic wildfire, drought and reduced snowpack, Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, wide-sweeping homeowner insurance policy cancellations, closing businesses, and a devastating global pandemic.
When we take a look at the ways in which our communities have responded, though, we see what they’re really made of, and we realize that there’s nothing quite like a monumental crisis to demonstrate how resilient we really are.
Adversity and crisis also reveal where there are gaps in resilience, where a community has the potential to grow, strengthen, and improve. Consider, for example, how the collective chaos of 2020 led to the scale of the current social justice uprisings, which in turn led to the much-needed and more widespread awareness of racial inequities and police violence in Black communities.
The truth is that every crisis, while deeply upsetting, also contains the seeds of opportunity and shines a light on what a community actually needs. If I have learned anything weathering these storms together with my community, it is that perseverance is rooted in our mindset. Building mental strength and flexibility to overcome mishaps or catastrophes creates the mental fortitude needed to lift each other up to seek solutions instead of dwelling in despair.
Consider this – nearly every opportunity that later transformed into a successful endeavor was first found in a moment of adversity or to fill a need. Right now, in this moment, there are opportunities waiting to help you transform yourself and the world around you into something you have until this point only dreamed about. The real trick is recognizing the chance while you’re looking at the adversity you face, and that can be done by considering these three questions:
1. How can we cope with and immediately respond to the current crisis? (hint: there are likely experts answering this question shortly after said crisis occurs)
2. What opportunities does this crisis create? (hint: it’s probably part of the answer to Question 1 with a sprinkle of your own creativity and innovation)
3. How can we be prepared in the future to respond rapidly and effectively to a similar crisis? (hint: your ideas from answering Question 2 are probably excellent long-term solutions)
The great news is that we’ve already seen examples of this in our communities across the Sierra Nevada. Neighbors are coming together to support each other, small businesses are pivoting and adapting, and local governments are fostering partnerships with local community organizations, all in the name of creating solutions to the problems we face in these times of crisis. Here are some examples of resilience in our region:
These examples are just a snapshot of the many amazing opportunities Sierra locals have taken during times of adversity and crisis. Each shows that by taking action and seizing an opportunity in times of need, we set ourselves up not only to make it through the current crisis but to increase our adaptability and resilience, and to weather future storms with tenacity and hope.
There are so many more stories to share about the strength of Sierra communities. After all, it takes grit and kindness to live, work, recreate, and thrive here in the Sierra Nevada and we are lucky to live in a community where people come together and support each other.
Learn about ways you can save energy and money through the WatterSaver program and how SNEW services are helping our community.
Please join Sierra Business Council at an upcoming workshop designed to collect important community feedback on broadband access and digital equity in the Sierra Nevada on May 12 from 10 am to 2:30 pm.
Make an impact in your community through the CivicSpark program! CivicSpark is an AmeriCorps program dedicated to building capacity for local governments in California, Washington, and Colorado to address emerging environmental and social equity resilience challenges such as climate change, water resource management, affordable housing, and mobility.
Outside of my role on SBC’s Climate and Energy team, I am also a small business owner and actively involved in the fiber arts community of the Sierra Nevada, designing knitting patterns and working with locally produced yarn. Over the years my two worlds – climate planning and knitting – have become increasingly intertwined, thanks to a concept called FIbershed.
In October of 2018, Sierra Business Council was awarded the role of program administrator for the Martis Fund’s Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Program (DPAP). This program provides down payment assistance for median income Tahoe/Truckee locals hoping to purchase a home in the region.
Have you heard of Time of Use rates before? Did you know you could be saving money on your energy bill just by utilizing them? Let’s back up. The state of California has set the goal of 100 percent use of zero-carbon electricity by 2045, which builds on the previous work the state has done to become more energy efficient and manage energy use.