Editor,

Red skies at night, sailors’ delight … not so much.

As I sit on my porch under a bright blue sky breathing in a cool island breeze, I can’t help but think of two days ago when the sun was blazing orange midway through the day and the air was stagnant with a haze of smoke. Saturday afternoon, my grandmother uttered the old adage “red skies at night sailors’ delight, red sky in morning sailors take warning” and I thought to myself, it’s a bit early for a sunset (this was around 5 pm). The next day, it became clear that the orange sky was not a beautiful sunset but a terrifying display of the Western Canadian wildfires.

As severe drought and temperatures continue to rise — we can probably expect an orange sun to be a common occurrence here on Whidbey Island. We need rapid and concrete climate action to reduce the extreme weather and temperatures we are facing all around the globe. I call on Senators Patty Murray and Rick Larsen to support the Crest Act and my fellow Whidbey Islanders to advocate for your own health and the health of out planet by contacting your local representative and supporting the Energy Innovation Act, citizensclimatelobby.org/get-loud-take-action/energy-innovation-act/.

Climate change action is neither a Republican or Democrat issue — it’s a human issue. As this is the only planet we have to live on, we must support legislative action that seeks to combat climate change, because I don’t know about you but I like my skies blue and my sun yellow.

Natalie Emery

Oak Harbor