The Pugwash Environmental Club, Marywood Sustainability Committee, Religious Studies Department and NextGen Climate, an organization focused on climate change, showed the documentary “How to Let Go of the World” on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. in the Comerford Theatre to raise awareness and educate the Marywood community about climate change.

Unlike any other documentary about climate change, the director and star in the movie, Josh Fox, travels to 12 countries to show recent environmental changes. Some of those countries include the U.S., Ecuador, Zambia and China.

Throughout the documentary, Fox visits and interviews multiple representatives and researchers from six different continents about recent changes, including the northeast coast that was affected by Hurricane Sandy, the Syrian droughts, the Pakistan floods, heat waves, melting of ice glaciers and warming of the atmosphere.

Most students who attended the film are aware that climate change is a significant world problem.

“Climate change is a big deal,” said Salma Ahmed, a sophomore nutrition and dietetics major. “Showing climate changes in 12 countries will be interesting to me. It shows it’s happening everywhere.”

Students received free refreshments after attending the film showing and some students in certain classes received extra credit points for viewing the film.

Religious Studies Professor Melinda Krokus helped organize the event.

“We need to change our behaviors. Right now we are experiencing the lasting effects,” said Krokus. “Europe and the U.S. are driven by fossil fuels.”

After the documentary, Krokus and representatives from NextGen Climate discussed the recent oil drilling protests happening today by the Standing Rock Sioux Indian tribe of North Dakota. NextGen Climate mentioned that drilling for oil is also currently happening in Pennsylvania.

Students were able to make the connection from the movie to their everyday lives.

“After your garbage leaves your house, where does it go? We don’t exactly know where it goes,” said Leslie Mason, a sophomore nutrition and dietetics major.

Marinna Wojciechowski, a sophomore nutrition and dietetics major, said she doesn’t know a lot about this issue because she’s consumed by schoolwork and events.

“I personally feel like I’m in a bubble at school because I sometimes don’t know what’s happening in the world,” said Wojciechowski.

Students said they learned more information about climate change after watching the film.

“I didn’t think about a lot of the parts that were mentioned… like about the results of Hurricane Sandy,” shared Kylie Winton, a sophomore marketing major. “The world population is increasing and our land’s decreasing [because sea levels are rising].”

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