Hope is a powerful thing...

As I have mentioned before, I think one of the most powerful things we can do as environmentalists is exercise the power of the vote. I have decided to vote and campaign for Barack Obama as I believe he is the best candidate for the environment. I still think he could do more, but believe he has the potential for positive change and that he has the strength to stand up to big business and take the appropriate steps to curb global warming.

This weekend I canvassed in Rhode Island for Obama and found the process to be exhilarating. Going door to door is not normally my idea of fun and I haven’t done so since I had a paper route, yet in place of the shyness I expected in myself when knocking on strangers’ doors I found courage and excitement. Almost everyone was eager to talk about who they were voting for and why, even if we disagreed (save one Hillary supporter who cursed at me).

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to go out there and support the candidates you believe in. If enough of us stood up and yelled, a green candidate member could actually hold a national elected office.

My favorite moment of the weekend was when I knocked on the door of a woman who had been visited the day before. I apologized for our mistake and her response was, “That’s okay, I’m just happy to see young people so excited about politics.”

We are excited. And our voices will be heard.