“Rising Tides,” a documentary that explores the topic of coastline erosion,
will be screened this Monday, June 25 at 6 pm in the Great Hall of the Nantucket
Atheneum on India Street. Dr. Sarah Oktay, who served as one of the film’s
consultants and has a cameo appearance in the production, is returning to the
island to host the event and will lead a brief discussion following the screening.
Admission is free and refreshments will be served.
Dr. Oktay, who directed the UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station for 13
years, is a highly regarded leader of the environmental community nationally.
She is currently Director of Strategic Engagement at the University of California,
Davis Natural Reserves System.
“Rising Tides” features some of the country’s most at-risk coastlines in
Florida, North Carolina, and Southern California, and abroad in France, the
Philippines, and India, as well as interviews with experts from environmental,
scientific, business, and government circles.
According to the film, the increasing frequency of such strong storms that
cause damage and threaten lives demonstrates the realities of climate change
and rising seas. Many coastal communities, for whom the impacts will be devastating,
have been fighting against vanishing coastlines for years with mixed
results, often having no choice but to abandon properties and move buildings.
Adding to this conversation are the conservationists and scientists who
feel the coastlines should be left alone for a multitude of different reasons. “Rising
Tides” shows what has been done in the past with coastal erosion, what is
being done now, what worked, what didn’t, and what the coastal areas can
expect in the future.
The film screening is being co-sponsored by the Nantucket Coastal Conservancy,
the Nantucket Atheneum, the Nantucket Civic League, and the
Madaket Residents Association.
