Portland EcoFilm Festival
While the concept of climate change was raised as far back as 1896, scientists' concerns didn't start burgeoning until the late 1960s. That's when the warnings began, each year growing increasingly dire. Most decided not to listen. They decided to keep having cars and hamburgers and kids, figuring that someone else would fix it. Nobody did, so now we've got two crummy options: Do nothing and die, or do what we can to make an oncoming catastrophe just a bit less catastrophic. The popular conversation about climate has felt different the past year or so, in large part thanks to the work of the Sunrise Project, Extinction Rebellion, Greta Thunberg, and even the climate plans of 2020's most forward-thinking presidential candidates. It's still not enough—but thankfully, things like the annual Portland EcoFilm Festival keep reminding people why and how they should fight. Now in its sixth year, the fest offers a weekend of features and shorts that show us what we're working toward, how we're doing it, and what we need to do better. ERIK HENRIKSEN