Over and over again, Preserve Our Islands says it’s not time to throw in the towel. And surely, this homegrown, indefatigable group is right. Several judicial actions remain in play. An injunction to immediately halt work will be filed any day. Activism, letter-writing, demonstrations and more are still in the works.

The message is clear: Don’t give up. Because once we do, Glacier Northwest has won.

We get it. And we agree.

And still, we need to acknowledge that what happened on Friday afternoon, when King County Executive Ron Sims said he had no choice but to give the company a notice to proceed, was a sad moment on this Island. Indeed, one of the saddest in many years.

Sims gave Glacier the green light at 3 p.m. At 3:01, crews were in the water, laying booms and prepping the site. To walk the beach that evening was to experience a study in the surreal. The sun was setting. A great blue heron spread its wings low across the water. And a construction crane towered over the dramatic scene, like some kind of monster devouring its young.

We applaud and uphold those who continue to wage this fight. We’ll continue to report on their every action. We think they’re remarkable — strong, determined, bright, resourceful.

We also mourn. Because what happened on Friday is what has happened over and over again in this absurd fight to protect the Sound: A consistent failure of will, despite considerable rhetoric that would suggest otherwise, to do what’s needed to alter this ecological collision course we’re on.

In a fitting gesture, several orcas were spotted not far from Glacier’s site on Sunday. Why do we continue to soil their home?