To the editor:

What will our grandkids be saying in 50 years about the actions we took in 2016 to address climate change?

They will surely be living with the consequences of our decisions. Most climate scientists agree that coal-fired power plants are one of the biggest threats to our climate and are predicting that large swaths of the ocean will suffocate and coastal communities may be under water.

On Bainbridge Island, 34 percent of our energy comes from the Colstrip coal plant in Montana, one of the biggest polluting coal facilities in the country. As long as Puget Sound Energy is our energy provider, that is not going to change for decades.

I’m happy that some island citizens are now working to form our own community-owned utility that would get off coal and instead buy clean low cost power from the Bonneville Power Administration. With Island Power, we would have our own crews right on the island responding to power outages. Now we have to wait for off-island crews who must first respond to bigger Kitsap communities before they even get to us. The money that now goes to foreign corporation profits would be better spent here on the island.

There are 62 public utilities in Washington, the newest being Jefferson County whose rates after two years in operation are 5 percent lower than PSE. These public utilities have professionally trained and highly skilled engineers and staff.

When we’re debating about the cost of studies for a community-

owned utility, please think of the long-term consequences of doing nothing.

VICKI JOHNSON

Bainbridge Island