This has been a rough summer for those of us who understand that the equilibrium of our planet is rapidly approaching a tipping point that we will soon be powerless to overcome. The mourning of Talequah, a member of the critically endangered southern resident killer whales, on display for 16 days as she carried her dead calf through the Salish Sea, has touched most of us deeply. And now smoke from the fires burning out of control all over the western United States and Canada is robbing us of another precious August day, replacing deep blue skies, sparkling waters and twinkling stars with a sheet of gloomy grey.

Stewardship of the environment is being assaulted on all fronts by the Trump administration, as most recently demonstrated by attempts to dismantle the Clean Power Plan.

We must act locally — and we must act boldly and swiftly!

Fortunately, we have a number of opportunities at hand.

As citizens, we should all support I-1631, the Clean Air Clean Energy ballot initiative. We should urge our City Council to formally endorse it as well. We should also urge our council to make a formal commitment to 100 percent renewable energy. Mercer Island could become the fifth local government in Washington state to do so, following Edmonds, Whatcom County, Bellingham and most recently, Spokane.

If you would like to see Mercer Island lead on climate action, please let our council members know it! This can be quickly done by going to the city website, (mercergov.org). Clicking on “City Council” at the top of the home page brings up a drop down list of council members and their email addresses.

Kim Rice

Mercer Island