Sometimes a national headline leaps off the page at you. Such was the case last week when I read in the Washington Post, “Iceland spots its first mosquitoes amid concerns over warming climate” much to my disbelief.

In my view, the scientific evidence for global warming is overwhelming. However, a recent Rasmussen poll reported that 58 per cent of respondents agreed that global warming was real, 23 per cent disagreed and 19 per cent were not sure. To me, the effects of global warming on an Island like ours are emphatic-just observe the beach erosion and sea level rise. Yet the skepticism remains for some. Perhaps, the mosquitoes in Iceland are the climate equivalent of the canary in the coal mine. Do we have to wait until our nurseries are selling palm trees before some grasp the urgency of the situation?

Kevin R. Loughlin MD

Edgartown (The writer is vice chairman of the Edgartown climate committee)