Sunny

I don't think people realize the impact that the Great Salt Lake drying has on the air we breathe, because I have felt that for myself personally. And for me, I grew up with the cultural understanding that I am connected to my land. We have a belief within Polynesia that it's important for us to treat our land with respect the same way we would treat our bodies with respect. And we don't do that here.

Sunny is proud to be Pacific Islander. She works with incarcerated people at the Utah State Correctional Facility on the shores of Great Salt Lake. She has witnessed the impact of environmental health issues — from mosquitos to toxic dust — on the mental and physical wellbeing of incarcerated people who have no ability or choice to leave as the lake recedes.