I have long been fascinated by the powerful connection between art and the environment — both define us as a people. Standing in a riverbed deep within the walls of a canyon or at the helm of a boat contemplating the vastness of our oceans, I try to imagine how an artist chooses color and finds form, and I am humbled. The outer world of nature and the interpretive world of art both insist that we transcend our narrow self-interest and see beyond what is right in front of us. Artists seek universal truths and help us form a community that responds to these truths and not to rhetoric or partisanship. The natural world reminds us how we are all connected, not by geography, but by river tributaries and wind patterns and fault lines. We depend on each other and also depend on the stewardship of the natural world. For it provides our lifeblood: clean air and water.

Did you know that over 70% of the toxic mercury in our environment is the result of industrial activities and human pollution? Mercury accumulates in the atmosphere and makes its way up the marine food chain, ultimately leading to dangerously high concentrations of the metal in the species of fish favored by many humans, like tuna, swordfish and mackerel. In humans, mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that at elevated levels may lead to cancer, slow growth, brain, and kidney damage. After becoming critically ill with mercury poisoning a decade ago, Susan emerged determined to shed light on this environmental and human health catastrophe. Together with her husband, Jim, and their filmmaking partners, Susan executive produced the impactful film Mercury Rising.