A new film looks at climate change through the eye of a scientist and the sacrifices he makes to get answers. The film 'Canary' was directed and produced by Wilmette native Danny O'Malley and co-directed by MIT-trained neuroscientist Alex Rivest. The film takes viewers on a journey through the life of scientist Lonnie Thompson, one of the world's leading climate change researchers. Thompson climbs some of the tallest mountains in the world to study glaciers.
He was born in poverty in coal country and became one of the world's leading climate scientists. And you know, he became this person, one of the first people to see global warming.The film's name is a nod to Thompson's roots and upbringing in coal mining country in West Virginia. As a child, he was always told that miners put canaries into coal mines to see whether something was wrong. If the canary died, miners knew they needed to get out quickly.