What Smoke Signals

This letter to the editor, by Pam Fricke, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on July 23, 2026.

Smoky skies aren’t going away anytime soon and neither are temperatures in the mid-90s.

I don’t have air conditioning, so during the worst of the heat and smoke, my husband and I close our windows and hunker down in our lower level. We’d all like to think this is a one-time event, just as we did in previous years, but, folks, it’s only going to get worse due to climate change, which fuels both conditions.

Here’s what I learned from sources including CBS, NPR and The Guardian, as well as governmental agencies such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Rising global temperatures create longer and more intense fire seasons by drying out forests, making them burn much easier. All it takes is a tiny spark to turn a dry forest into a massive fire.

Science also indicates that the average temperature of the planet is higher, so heat waves reach 90 degrees or more much faster. Heat waves also last longer, making them hit harder.

The atmosphere holds more heat overall, and smoke makes the summer heat much more intense.

We simply can’t ignore the reality of climate change. It affects all of us; Republicans as well as Democrats; red states as well as blue states; billionaires as well as those earning minimum wage.

It’s time to stop bickering over whether climate change is real or not and instead address ways to remediate the damage. We need to act now to save the planet and ourselves.