In this week’s It’s Hot Out There segment we sit down with banjo-wielding, Academy Award nominated director, Josh Fox, who presented his film Gasland at the University of Michigan’s Rackham Auditorium last week.

In his talk, Fox called climate change a “bottom line,” linking a number of dramatic current events and indicted the media for its “architecture of denial” in failing to identify changing climate as a factor. He expanded on these remarks our face-to-face conversation, suggesting that “what kind of society do we want to be?” is the pressing question of our time, and identifying strong communities as our best tool for enduring and mitigating the climate crisis as it unfolds.

Fox’s insights directly resonate with current events. The attacks in Paris occurred just days after our conversation–as France prepares to host the International Conference of Parties to consider global agreements on climate change. The international community has come together to offer condolences to the victims in Paris and many have committed to attend the COP meetings despite the recent upheaval. This courage and commitment in the face of tragedy underscores, yet again, the importance of building community both globally and locally.