Tahoe Summit

Today I spent the morning at the Tahoe Summit in Sand Harbor on the East shore of Lake Tahoe.  I was going to write about the speeches made by Senators Reid and Feinstein, or the opening prayer led by an ageing Washoe Elder whose family members have roamed these shores since long before there even were senators, or the way the lunches we made in compostable containers with compostable plastic cups, but the syran-wrapped cookies were made in Texas (how sustainable), or even the disappointment I felt when I heard the prosperity plan for the coming years here in Tahoe involves trying to stimulate a feeling of community because well, tourists like a feeling of community when they come to visit places.  I was going to talk about all those things, to address what they referred to as a "lack of young environmental professionals in the area" (A lack?  Environmental professionals are everywhere up here.  Nearly everyone on the CTC crews, building their fencing, seeding their soil, cleaning up their urban lots, all of then have at least 2 year degrees in environmental fields.  Forest Service crews are filled with experienced environmental degree holders just trying to make ends meet.  The AmeriCorps program in the Sierra Nevada and here in Tahoe has become so competitive that people with masters degrees and doctorates are competing to volunteer up here.  There are plenty of young environmental professionals here, more than I've known anywhere else in my travels, so whats the matter?  There are no jobs.  These people are all working their butts off for 10 hour days doing little more than labor just to make ends meet and only to get laid-off every fall and hope to god they get their job back every spring.  The tourism industry up here has created an extremely variable and seasonal economy, I know so many people up here that spend their summers working long hours on a crew and their winters living off of unemployment and skiing, thats not a recipe for success.  Theres only so many years someone can comfortably do that before they have to find something year-round, before they need to get out of the tourist clogged streets of beautiful lake Tahoe, before they can't handle being asked by some other idiot stopped in the middle of highway 50 on a busy day where the lake is.  Tourism has created a transient town here, a group of people who come and stay for a few years, can't find real work, and move on to another place that offers them more opportunities, thats why you don't have a community.  Tourism is not the answer to Tahoe's economic woes, it is part of the cause.  Thats just my opinion though, and maybe thats because I am a young environmental professional with a decent resume and a respectable degree here in Tahoe looking for a full time job and being offered a second full time volunteer year, haven't I volunteered enough already?  Haven't I paid my dues?  2 full years of living at the poverty line for the experience has been worth every minute, but how long do I keep working for free before I recognize that I have $35,000 in student loans hanging over my head that I will someday need to pay off.   You want to hang onto people like me Tahoe?  Give us jobs that pay real money to do real work, don't demean us by making us work for free for years or laying us off every fall.  But thats just me...)

Anyway, I was going to say all of that but when I got out my computer to start writing my roommates cat came into my room and peed on my brand new comforter and just-washed sheets while I was actually in my bed and I got too angry to want to do any writing at all.  Heres a promise I need to make to myself and actually keep: when I move out of this house I will NEVER live ANYWHERE with a cat again.  Period.  End of story.

So heres my photo of the day, not a good one, but acceptable.  The Senators up on Stage in front of the Shakespeare on the Beach backdrop at Sand Harbor:

But mostly, the backs of the guys in front of me's heads.  Okay I'm done whining.  Thanks for putting up with me!

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