From Outdoor Enthusiast to Climate Activist

MY NAME is Casey Prostinak. I was born and raised in the Reno/Tahoe area and have spent my life discovering new ways to enjoy the mountains and all the natural beauty the world has to offer. My family has mostly lived by the mountains or the ocean. In summer, I spend my free time surfing, wakeboarding, mountain biking and cliff jumping. In winter, I explore new peaks and backcountry mountain regions to ski. Professionally, I work as a commercial property broker advising companies and investors through strategic relocations and placement of capital.

I have a natural attraction to innovation, especially when it comes to energy. I dream of a planet powered from clean energy and sustainable practices. We only get a short time to enjoy this planet, and every single one of us has the responsibility to leave it better than when we arrived, which on a micro-level should be how we treat nature in exploration/adventures on a daily basis. As I experience the increasing impacts of climate change on decreasing winter snowpacks and worsening summer wildfires, I’m concerned that we will continue to disagree on a solution—or worse, deny a changing climate altogether—until it is too late. My hope is to empower people and amplify ideas to a greater audience based on data, research, and projections.

I became a member of CCL after the North Lake Tahoe Chapter held an online event for Jeremy Jones’ movie, Purple Mountains, in early 2021. I agreed with CCL’s carbon fee and dividend strategy and wanted to do what I could to help. I now have a better understanding of a “straightforward plan” that a has real viability to slow the temperature increases that our planet will see over the coming years.

                                                                                —Casey Prostinak