I serve as staff adviser to Scarborough High’s environmental club. Our students receive one year of environmental science, including climate science. They attend assemblies presented by the Alliance for Climate Education, a national group educating students on climate science using NASA data.

NASA’s data has been so compelling and alarming that some students have then asked why climate isn’t all over social media, why it isn’t the center of families’ dinner discussions and why our leaders aren’t rushing to action.

It’s their Earth, and we’ve unknowingly left it in severe jeopardy. The science is clear. And as astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson notes, “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.”

Now that we know, we must get a move on. I applaud Sen. Angus King’s bold efforts on the Senate floor, Maine’s environmental organizations and Mainers who raise their voices, make small personal behavior changes and encourage elected representatives to act on a larger scale.

Recently our students launched a composting and a “DOT campaign” (Do One Thing for the environment). This included displaying reusable dot-shaped posters suggesting individual actions: “Walk, it feels good”; “Compost, it’s a carbon sink”; “Hang your clothes to dry”; “No more pesticides”; “Weatherize it”; “Power down”; “Eat lower on the food chain”; “Go solar”; and “Green jobs for ME.” Things we can do connected to climate.

Maine surrounds us in exquisite natural beauty, provides for us and is a deep part of who we and our children are. We must now answer her call, becoming climate action leaders – addressing impacts to her shorelines, ski industry, wildlife, maple syrup and lobster industries, and more.

Living in Maine is knowing what we’re living for. Let’s put Maine’s children and natural treasures at center stage – and do all we can to tackle climate change.

Terri Eddy

Scarborough