My favorite place in the Sierra is the solar-powered homestead on San Juan Ridge that I've shared with my partner for 15 years. With a faster-than-phone satellite Internet link, I can work from home--finally. No more driving 25 miles to a coffeeshop for high-speed connections! More time to enjoy the garden on my 100-yard-long morning commute from the house to the office. I'm a big believer in boosting rural connectivity. One of the next big rural issues!
Some of my best and most successful collaborations have happened while rafting or floating or swimming fabulous Sierra rivers. Whether the issue is water quality, recreation, dams, mercury, or snowpack. It's all eventually about water.
In an effort to become carbon neutral, I run my VW Golf on bio-diesel, but it's just become harder to get. Boosting local economies, energy self-sufficiency, local collaborations, I'll be watching those issues in the Sierra.