“Thursday’s record-breaking poor air quality was impossible to ignore. It was a stark reminder that climate change isn’t a distant challenge but that it’s here, affecting our health, our communities, and our daily lives.
Like many of you, I felt a mix of sadness, frustration, and concern. I found myself wondering what we’ll tell future generations about what summers used to feel like. Will they know long stretches of blue skies, or will smoky days become what they remember instead?
Just last Sunday, I was paddling on the lake, overwhelmed with gratitude for the beauty of our natural world. Days like Thursday remind us how quickly that connection can be disrupted.
As unsettling as the smoke is for me and many of you, it’s important to remember that for others the impacts are much more severe. Families have lost homes to wildfires; firefighters and first responders continue to put themselves in harm’s way, and people with asthma, heart or lung conditions, children, and older adults face serious health risks simply by breathing the air. Sustainability is about protecting nature and about caring for people and communities as well.
It’s easy to feel discouraged. But moments like these can also strengthen our resolve.
This is a time to recommit to the choices we make, the organizations we support, the conversations we have, and the actions we take to build a more sustainable future. Protecting our environment is inseparable from protecting people’s health, well-being, and quality of life.
The future we want won’t happen on its own. It will be created by people who continue showing up, even when the challenges feel overwhelming.
If you’re looking for a way to reconnect with others who care and are taking action, I hope you’ll join us at our Tuesday Sustainable Breakfast Series or an upcoming All Around Dane County program. Especially in moments like this, community matters. We need spaces to learn from one another, support one another, and keep moving forward together.
The air we breathed this week was a powerful reminder of what’s at stake. Let’s make it a reminder of what’s possible when we act together.”
—Claire Oleksiak, Sustain Dane Executive Director