Reflection

Reflection

I grew up around nature and, for the majority of my life, took it for granted. My film is reflection on the last couple years of my life, when I have been fortunate enough to travel to some of the most beautiful places on earth. I’ve seen the good and the bad on this planet and its people, and I’ve seen a variety of ways that climate change is being addressed. Growing up the U.S. Midwest, climate change has never been a pressing issue to anyone around me; we are blissfully ignorant of the effects our carbon intake and waste have on the rest of the world. Recently, I visited a small fishing town in Nicaragua where this was not the case. Without a proper waste management system, they have found creative ways to repurpose what we would consider trash to prevent it from entering the ocean. New waves of tropical storms have forced some people to move and the rest to build stronger houses. And this is why climate change makes me angry. Climate change makes me angry because it’s those who are the least deserving and the most vulnerable who are being forced to make changes to their lives. 30% of the country lives on less than $2 a day, yet they are the ones taking responsibility for what should be a global issue. I want to raise awareness of this issue and hopefully inspire people to start making changes in their everyday lives, however small they may be.