Vote Green

By: Melinda Toussaint

When it comes to voting for the next United States President things can seem overwhelming. Between the campaigns, the issues, and the all-in-all dirty politics, sometimes it seems like it doesn’t matter. That’s how I have felt on more than one occasion. Can one vote really make a difference? Well, maybe not. But I’ve realized that one vote matters to one person- you.

If you take the time to learn the issues and what you care about you will be a changed voter, and maybe a changed person. The old adage is true- knowledge is power. Now is the time to become powerful! (If you haven’t done so already) Visit both the candidates’ websites and research the issues they stand for. And in the process… think about what you stand for. After that if you find that most of the issues don’t affect you…. Vote green. It affects everyone.

Both candidates have strong views and policies on the environment so the best you can do for the country, the environment, and yourself is to become the guru of the green issues. But to give you a head start I have selected five important issues that Barack Obama and John McCain are fighting for.
1) Reducing Emissions: McCain would like to return to the past by reducing emission levels back to what it was in 1990, while Obama looks to the future in saying that by 2025 we could reduce emissions by 80 percent.
2) Clean Cars: Both McCain and Obama are trying to manufacture clean plug-in Hybrid vehicles to help reduce fuel usage. Obama, especially, would like to manufacture these vehicles strictly in the U.S. giving more jobs to Americans.
3) Clean Air/Water: McCain promises $2 billion annually to be spent on advancing clean coal technology and researching the use of wind, hydro, and solar power. Obama also provides a fight for clean air and water management but doesn’t report any monetary figure.
4) Green Jobs: Obama does wish to create more jobs for Americans by advancing buildings and factories to green standards and also by enforcing youth group programs to help disadvantaged citizens to find jobs and green living.
5) Renewable Resources: This is very important to both candidates. Obama would like to have 25 percent of electricity coming from renewable resources by 2025 and to ensure that the largest consumer of energy, the Federal Government, uses renewable resources as well. McCain, on the other hand, promises tax credits to companies using renewable resources for energy.

Overall, both Obama and McCain are putting up strong fights for the green movement. But if you don’t agree with any of their other issues they stand for you could also consider voting green but for the independent party. The Green Party (www.gp.org/) is highly focused on making this world a better place by using their funds to help the environment. They believe in democracy, equality, ecological wisdom, and overall a global responsibility held by all its’ citizens.

They might not be the most powerful or wealthy of parties to hold office, but every vote they receive helps their party achieve more funds for the next campaign. Who knows, maybe one day in the future America will be run by the green party? But until then you have vote green! Knowledge is power and now is the time to become powerful!

Research Obama’s Issues:
www.barackobama.com/issues/
Research McCain’s Issues:
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/
Research the Green Party:
www.gp.org/