Recently, an article on Lake County’s unemployment rate created some hot debate. I heard arguments ranging from blaming it on the politics of the oil crisis to blaming it on how parents have raised their children. The comments began to trouble me deeply, when people began suggesting that the youth of our county be encouraged to leave Lake County any way they could. Even if it meant joining the military to do so.

Is this really the message we want to give our youth and our community? That they need to escape Lake County, any way they can, even if it means exposing them to the casualties of war to do so? Or is there a better answer? Could it be that we are at the point where we are lacking personal responsibility, creativity, knowledge and wisdom to the detriment of our community and our children?

I do not believe it is a mistake that the Chinese word for “crisis” is written with two simple but opposing characters, one symbolizing “danger” and the other symbolizing “opportunity.” As terrible as the unemployment crisis, the economic crisis, the oil crisis and the mortgage crisis is, each crisis has given us the chance to begin exploring new avenues of awareness and opportunities.

The question we need to be asking ourselves is whether we will choose awareness and opportunity over ignorance and abandonment. Will we jump ship and encourage others to jump ship just because the storm is approaching and the seas are getting a bit rough or will we take command of the wheel and navigate our ship into a vast sea of opportunity? The opportunity is out there, if we just take a moment to look for it. I took a few moments, myself, to look for the opportunity within the crisis and I found some opportunities I would like to share.

First, we can all begin by buying and selling local. One of the best ways to stimulate a local economy and local jobs is to support local business owned and operated by local people who will in turn do the same.

Here’s an idea, instead of going to a corporate-owned chain where fat corporations get paid and very few local people ever see the money, allow your purchasing power to strengthen the local economy by supporting locally owned businesses so the jobs produced are long-lasting. You may be surprised that the new Starbucks has hired and fired more people since it has opened than any of the locally owned coffee shops. So, why not invest in a neighbor who actually cares about keeping their employees and customers happy? It definitely couldn’t hurt.

Shopping local not only makes good economic sense, it also makes good green sense, especially when you are buying local products from local people. That is because when you support local people, such as artisans, farmers, winemakers, etc., you are also creating less pollution and saving more oil because neither you nor the items have to travel very far for the transaction to be made. With all the talk of the oil crisis at hand, it just makes sense to begin to support and maintain our local resources.

We can also use one of our greatest technological resources to find new sources of income. Did you know the fastest-growing job market is right in your own home? Home businesses are surging, due to gas prices, traffic and the accessibility of the Internet. Your computer is probably one of the best job resources you have, when considering a home business. There are boundless opportunities, just waiting for you, over the Internet. Places like Elance (www.elance.com/p/landing/buyer.html?rid=1121E) and Worldwide Work At Home (www.worldwideworkathome.com/freelance.html) reveal a vast amount of leads for freelance work which can be done entirely at home.

As well, the technology of the Internet takes us one more step into the future. Social networking is no longer social but professional, thanks to places like Wowzza (www.wowzzapower.com/index2.php?siteID=227262) and DirectMatches (www.directmatches.com/default2.asp?site=shamancola) which list a multitude of online business opportunities.

In addition, blogging has gone professional, as well, having the potential to earn hundreds of thousands a year (www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/21/BUVJSNSTC.DTL), especially, if you are a blogger who takes advantage of affiliate marketing programs like Clickbank (www.clickbank.com/index.html) and Commission Junction (www.cj.com/) for affiliate leads.

Amazingly enough, the newest craze is surrounding resurgence of network marketing and MLM businesses. They are popping up everywhere and they are popping up for a reason. The old network marketing and mlm businesses have a new and improved twist on them these days, and are definitely worth looking into. This is because, due to the latest technologies, network and mlm marketers no longer need to turn to friends, family and neighbors in order to succeed. In fact, there is even an e-report and book (http://mss.the7greatliesofnetworkmarketing.com/) about how network marketing has evolved and what you can do to take advantage of the evolution. There is an entire world out there to generate leads from, today.

In addition, some of them have little to no startup costs and don’t require any needless buying or selling. Solutions like The Spiderweb System (http://myspideysense.com/) offer e-products and e-tools both you and your network actually need when conducting network marketing, professional networking, affiliate marketing, mlm marketing, blogging or any other online business which allows while you to earn money through affiliate commissions rather than sales. The best part, all of these opportunities and solutions are as close as the nearest computer.

In addition, there are now a multitude of “green” opportunities just waiting to be discovered and implemented. Urbanhabitat.org (http://www.urbanhabitat.org/node/528) has listed a few. Before looking for a job or a business opportunity, why not take some time to focus on “green” jobs and “green” businesses within Lake County which would offer you and others something unique?

I visited Hopland’s Solar Living Institute this weekend for their Solfest which was a tremendous success. People came from all over the world to come to this “green” event. Now, there is a plan in the works for a “green” motel, right across the street. Where are our green motels, our green gift shops, our green businesses and green jobs? These things would not be too difficult to create, considering Lake County is actually one of the last few places in California that has some “green” left in it and already attracts a decent amount of tourists.

We could use the example of San Mateo County (www.recycleworks.org/green_business/index.html) to learn from and we could even create a green guide (www.greensantabarbara.com/) as Santa Barbara has to promote green businesses within the community. With eco-tourism on the rise, we could boost our economy and help our preserve and protect our precious natural surroundings simply by going green and creating a buzz about it through places like Green Vacation Hub (www.greenvacationhub.com/) and GreenBiz (www.greenbiz.com) which would not only attract eco-tourists but ecologically minded residents and businesses. We could we create a multitude of green businesses and green jobs, we could possibly a green community and a green economy, which could serve as a model for others and a terrific green eco-tourist destination, all at the same time.

Throughout history, some of the most successful people are the ones who see opportunity where others do not. Perhaps, we need to simply open our eyes more to the possibilities rather than opening our mouths about the impossibilities.

If we truly begin to see the “opportunity” in our crisis, we would realize that we don’t need to leave Lake County (or encourage anyone else to do so) just to find work. In fact, I would encourage people to stay in Lake County and utilize the incredible resources we have which allow us the opportunity to build a better place for future generations.

Andrea Anderson lives in Lakeport.

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