June 24, 2016 — The phrase “climate refugee” likely brings to mind images of people fleeing a low-lying Pacific island or coastal Bangladesh, but as other leading media outlets have pointed out, individuals in the United States are also being displaced by a changing climate.
The documentary “Can’t Stop the Water” takes viewers to southern Louisiana’s Isle de Jean Charles, where storm surges exacerbated by climate change, coastal oil and gas development, and wetland degradation are combining to push the island under water.
As one of the residents says in the trailer above, “Today we’re just washing away, one day at a time.”
Now after 170 years of living on the island, the Native American Cajun community — lead by Chief Albert Naquin — is banding together and searching for a new place to call home because, as the tribe knows, ultimately you can’t stop the water.
Filmmakers Rebecca Marshall Ferris, Jason Ferri, and Kathleen Ledet created the documentary “Can’t Stop the Water.. The three spent several years “immersed in the lives and daily dramas” of the people who call Isle de Jean Charles home while filming.
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