Sea Level Rise in Maine

About This Project

Director:

Island Institute

Total Running Time:

0:02:48

Origin:

Maine

Synopsis:

The first step on the journey to a more resilient community is the conversation about climate change, sea level rise, and the specific vulnerabilities of that community. These are hard and often controversial discussions – with many points of view and no easy answers that need to coalesce around shared values and mutual respect. By using multiple strategies for communication about the impacts of climate change we can reach a wider audience, increasing awareness, and spur vulnerable communities to action. In addition to more traditional forms of communication such as pagers, community meetings, and trainings, the Island Institute has developed a short, animated film using colloquial, Maine-specific humor as a tool to spark and catalyze conversations around sea level rise. These exchanges can then draw on other tools, including local documentation of flooding events, national sea rise calculators, funding models, economic impact studies, vulnerability assessments, and other media tools. Using humor increases the possibility of finding common ground, thus encouraging problem-solving for vulnerable areas. Along with using the video to launch individual community conversations, it is also posted on social media and available online. With more than 24,000 views in 3 weeks, it has already reached a more diverse audience than we could with one-on-one community meetings. Whether people love the video or hate it, we hope they will talk about it.

This film to be screened at:

8/24/2019 – Riverbank Park – Westbrook – (FB Event)
9/07/2019 – Camden Snow Bowl – Camden – (FB Event)