On August 21, the Chatham Orpheum Theater hosted the Cape Cod premiere of Shifting Tides, a new documentary by local filmmaker Angela McNerney. A full house turned out for the screening, followed by a lively panel conversation with climate and community experts.
About the Film
Shifting Tides intertwines human stories with
science, economics, and Indigenous perspectives to examine both the facts of
climate change and the way we talk about them.
Among those featured in the film are Charles “Stormy” Mayo, co-founder of
Provincetown’s Center for Coastal Studies, and Scott Barrett,
Professor of Natural Resource Economics at Columbia University.
McNerney describes the film this way: “This film is a reflection of our place within
nature, not above or below it. Woven with threads of science and Indigenous
knowledge, it invites the audience to see the planet not as a resource, but as
part of themselves.”
The Panel:
● Angela McNerney, journalist and filmmaker
● Stormy Mayo, PhD, marine biologist and whale expert
● Scott Barrett, PhD, Columbia University
● Sarah Griscom, PhD, of the Chatham Climate Action Network, served as moderator.
The panel explored challenges with climate communicate. Facts and data, while
fundamental, alone rarely change behavior. But stories can create emotional
connections and make the issue personal. Mayo pointed to master storytellers
like Jacques Cousteau and David Attenborough to show how science woven
with emotion can inspire action.
McNerney captured the theme: “A story can carry the weight of a melting glacier into
someone’s kitchen or turn ‘erosion’ into the memory of a family home lost too
soon. Stories make climate change personal, emotional, and urgent.”
She noted that storytelling is also an act of hope—reminding us of what can still
be saved and reimagined together. Hope, the panelists agreed, when coupled
with determination and energy can help to make sustainable choices the natural
way forward.
