Re: “Severe coastal storm damage, steep cost may offer glimpse of future,” by Gillian Graham (March 21):

Our fourth nor’easter this month rolled through Thursday, and we are still rebuilding from the first three. Damage from the most recent storms on the coast of Maine has totaled in the millions. A study recently published in the journal Nature Communication links the warming of the Arctic to the increasing frequency and intensity of winter storms in the eastern United States.

To prevent these storms from destroying our coastlines in the future, we must work toward combating climate change. We need policymakers to fight for better environmental policies that will phase out our use of fossil fuels – the main contributor to climate change. We need policies that will stop the development of new fossil fuel infrastructure, and will convert old fossil fuel infrastructure so it can be used by the renewable energy sector.

Gov. LePage needs to make climate change one of his top priorities if he wants to keep Mainers along the coastline safe. This is a critical time for the environmental movement. We are starting to feel the effects of global climate change on a local level, and now is the time for a change in policy.

Jaclyn Gilson

Camden