Editor,

Naval Air Station Whidbey Island held an open meeting of their Restoration Advisory Board last Thursday.

It addressed concerns people have about our groundwater pollution from chemical dumping of contaminants in years past. Some view it as doing penance for sins of the past.

If these are egregious sins then we’re all guilty, because realization of polluting consequences is a pretty new thing to all of us. As one who lived through WWII and remembers how close we all came to being toasted by ferocious enemies, we need to remember that it is our nation’s military that did the nasty job that gave us freedom to be here and express our concerns.

Things did get sloppy back then when the planet was so big no one thought pollution by humans was even possible. Heck, much of the world’s surface was still unexplored, uncharted and ball point pens hadn’t even been invented.

So much has changed. Population is exploding. Now nearly every speck anywhere is mapped and even photographed so that anyone with a computer and the Google Earth app can see in detail what was unknown not so long ago.

Our military has changed too. We can be grateful for the changes, which include commendable efforts to responsibly clean up and mitigate side effects from protecting us in a topsy turvy world that still crazily reels out of control at times.

Progress also brings challenges. Pray and stay tuned.

Al Williams

Oak Harbor