Tiger’s Nest and Wise Coyotes: A Look at Bhutan and the Sierra Nevada
In early June, I had the awe-inspiring experience of visiting Bhutan, a small rural Vajrayana Buddhist country located in the Himalaya between Tibet, Nepal and India. Bhutan is the only country in the world that uses Gross National Happiness (GNH) instead of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to measure its progress.
Building Personal Resilience in the Era of Climate Change
This past spring, I attended the National Adaptation Forum in Madison, WI, which included a sessions on Resilience for Climate Change Professionals. Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from difficulties.
Preparing Sierra Businesses for a Natural Disaster
Growing up, my parents practiced all their presentations on my sister and me. They were just starting their dream small business and implementing an initial marketing push to get their message out to the public. Every dinner since then has been commandeered by conversations of consultants, visions for their work or other business-related updates. It was a huge effort for them as much as it is for anyone else starting their own small business.
Climate Change, the Olympics and Solastalgia
I’ve always enjoyed watching the Olympics, but there’s something a little off about the experience this time around. The athletes this year are as impressive as ever, but seeing all the wintery weather of Pyeongchang on my TV has me wishing for more snow here in the Sierra Nevada.
Rejecting Dystopia: How the Literary Realm May Guide us to Utopia (or something like it)
Recently the effects of the Anthropocene have demanded nearly all of our attention. In the Sierra we have been torn between runaway fires, increased rain over reduced snowpack, tree mortality, soil runoff, persistent drought impacts and the powder keg of more frequent, extreme weather patterns as witnessed throughout the country. The alarmist voice is a megaphone.
Practically Parisian: 7 Actions You Can Take to Fight Climate Change
Sierra Business Council supports strong, immediate and aggressive action at the local, regional, state, national, and international level to reduce the threat that climate change poses to the Sierra Nevada.
President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord is an ill informed act that damages American competitiveness in global markets, will eventually lead to loss of jobs in emerging industries in the United States and in the Sierra, and ignores the clear fact that changes in our climate pose significant risk to human health, safety and economic security.
Cattle and Climate Change: Why the Beef?
I have many fond memories growing up on my family’s cattle ranch in Sierra Valley. Prior to his passing at the age of 98 in 2008 my Grandfather, Attilio Genasci was the oldest working cattleman in California.
California’s Fight Against Climate Change Carries On Thanks to Last Week’s Court Decision
Last week California won big in its fight to address climate change. The California Third District Court of Appeal issued an April 6th ruling confirming that the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade auction program is legal!
Following the Oroville Dam Crisis: Is Our Future Drought, Flooding, or Both?
After years of painful drought in California, you might have heard we are on track for the wettest year on record. You likely also heard about the Oroville Dam crisis that forced 188,000 people out of their homes. Is this the future for California following intense droughts: dam failures (Oroville has not been the only one), evacuations, flooding, and mudslides closing down our roads every year? If it is, what do we do about it: build more dams (we already have over 1,400), higher levees, or all move to higher ground?
Food for Thought: Mitigating Climate Change Through Sustenance
Regardless of their feelings about the scientific consensus (hint, it’s verified), people are at least familiar with the concept of climate change, that the evidence points to fossil fuels being to blame, and that small acts like turning off lights seem to help.