Artist Statement

The American West is burning. Wildfires and the costs of fighting them are escalating out of control and three circumstances contribute to this increase: First, 100 years of fire suppression in fire-dependent ecosystems has packed our forests with fuel. Second, rapid development at the edge of these flammable wildlands has changed what’s at stake. And now, a decade of drought and higher temperatures may likely become the new norm. The American West is warming.

Climate change is a global problem, but every community has a local story. Whether the impacts are direct or make existing challenges worse, these are the stories society needs to know. We have to learn them from each other, see them in the news, make art about them and discuss them in our schools. After all, people cause, face the consequences of, and must collectively stop this climate crisis. But to mobilize global effort we must generate local will.

Facing Climate Change is a long-term documentary project that tells the story of global change through local people. From semi-nomadic reindeer herdsmen in the Arctic to wildland firefighters of the American West, our work contributes photographs, field audio and writing to engage people with stories from their own communities, and others around the world.

Our most recent series, The Tinder People, explores not only how we fight fire, but how we live within the warming West. For three seasons we’ve embedded with both Forest Service and private contract crews to understand and document the wildland fire industry from the inside. In 2009 we will continue by documenting a new insurance company program that provides private fire protection to homes valued at $1 million or more – the largest private wildfire protection network in the history of our country. When complete, The Tinder People will illustrate wildfire and climate change in the American West through the stories of fire fighters, land managers and forest communities.

Live and Web-based multimedia will also be available from the series. View examples here.

Facing Climate Change began in 2006 with three Nordic stories that feature Sámi reindeer herders in Norway, volunteer glacier monitors from Iceland and fishermen of the North Atlantic. “The Tinder People” is the first in a series of profiles from the American West. Since 2007, Facing Climate Change has been featured in Orion Magazine and Mother Jones, in gallery shows from Seattle City Hall to the group exhibition, Human Nature, at the Houston Center for Photography (through May 10, 2009), and at more than a dozen other events and venues.

Facing Climate Change is a Blue Earth Alliance sponsored project with photographs by Benjamin Drummond and writing by Sara Joy Steele.