Faith Richardson walked into a soundproof booth, put on headphones and stared down the microphone. Climate change is on her mind.
“We try to do little things, but we don't know where to start and I feel like a lot of people feel this way where they feel if they can't do everything perfectly, then it just turns into not doing anything at all,” she said. “And that can’t be where we live our lives.”
Around 1,200 people attended an Earth Day Expo at the Groton Public Library on Saturday, where attendees could tell WSHU Public Radio about what makes them anxious in the face of climate change.
“I wanted to create an event where people’s voices would be heard,” said Jason Hine, the expo’s organizer and owner of The Ditty Bag in Mystic. “When coming together at an event like this, they are able to share their experiences and find ways to stay activated in a neighborly, family-friendly way."
With help from students from Connecticut College, WSHU set up a “Climate Anxiety Booth” — a recording booth where people reflected on changes they see in their environment at home along the Long Island Sound.
Laurie Gorham, a resident of Gales Ferry, said that fossil fuel companies needed to be held more accountable.
“I can't believe how people are allowing fossil fuel companies to continue to make billions and billions of dollars as our beautiful planet is destroyed,” she said.
Zach Hayden, of Westport, said his biggest concern was the unwillingness of people to adapt to a changing climate.
“There’s so much to worry about, but I think what worries me the most is our unwillingness to really change our behavior and live less materialistic, consumer-based lives as societies,” Hayden said. “We keep prioritizing that kind of lifestyle, and we keep celebrating it.”
Carina Taufiq, a conservation worker from Rhode Island, said communities were not educated enough about the local impacts of climate change — a new requirement for public school curriculum in Connecticut.
“My biggest qualm with what I see in the public tends to be the lack of education, and due to that there is a lack of caring about our environment,” Taufiq said.
Many local college and high school students had activities set up at the fair.
Panels were scheduled throughout the day to give young people the opportunity to ask questions to elected officials, including state Reps. Christine Palm, Christine Conley and Aundre Bumgardner, and industry leaders — such as Jim Clifford, creator of the CT Climate Hub, and Mike Urgo, president of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters — about the climate decisions being made today that will impact students throughout their lifetime.
“It’s important to stay motivated and stay optimistic,” Hine said. “It is so easy to get depressed or apathetic, and an event like this can help people navigate that they are not only concerned but are doing things and different things to address climate change.”
