By Jacob Swiecicki, Staff Reporter.
Local environmentalists gathered at Intermission Deli in Bay City on Oct. 8 to watch a documentary on climate change called “Chasing Ice”. Mariah McClean, President of the Saginaw Valley Sustainability Society (SVSS) held a Q&A session after the showing for anyone who interested in voicing their environmental concerns.
“Chasing Ice” follows the story of James Balog, a photographer, who travels to Greenland, Alaska and Iceland to capture the rapid decrease of ice levels on camera. Balog founded Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) to assist in his documentation of receding ice by using time lapse photography.
“The more you learn, the more it can get depressing,” said McClean.
SVSS is a local environmentalist group dedicated to raising awareness on climate issues and natural conservation. Operating primarily in the Saginaw Valley area, SVSS is active in helping educate the community with various projects such as maintaining community gardens and hosting climate workshops.
“If you look around this room, you see middle aged people,” said Maria Linsalata, an activist who attended the screening, “Any effort to involve people of any age is worth it.”
Josh Sheller, an employee at Intermission Deli, has worked at the showings of some environmental movies that have been shown in the past. “I think it’s a really informative and crunchy time. It educates the people,” said Sheller.
“These are our homes, our children, and our world,” said McClean in her closing, “We can do this. We CAN do this.”
Both McClean and Linsalata will be giving separate presentations at “Saving Our Sacred Home: Climate Change Forum” on Nov. 8, with Terry Miller, a Delta adjunct instructor, as moderator. The forum will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 6220 North Jefferson Rd. in Midland. With free admission, the organizers invite anyone interested in climate issues, including skeptics.
