Why Are You Voting In November?

I am committed to voting in November because I believe that we must do something about the existential threat of Climate Change.

I have been thinking a lot about the next 50 days. Why am I committed to voting in November? For many, it is to end the madness of the Donald Trump era. I certainly agree that we must stop our lawless impeached President of the United States. But Donald Trump is not the only reason why I am committed to voting in November.

I am looking around, having survived the dog days of summer, seven months of the new normal of pandemic living, and what seems like world-ending catastrophic weather events across the United States. The west coast of the US is on fire; hurricanes are barreling towards us on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, 100 and 500-year floods in the Midwest, a once in a generation Derecho in the Great Plains, and the highest temperatures ever recorded in dozens of states. I am committed to voting in November because I believe that we must do something about the existential threat of Climate Change.

Climate Change, for the third year in a row, remains the number one issue of the Pinellas County Young Democrats. Climate Change is the number one political driver for younger voters and often spans across the political divide. I believe that if we do not address and combat the issue of Climate Change, nothing else really matters. I am worried that American cities, large and small, are not taking the proper steps to build up resiliency. Storms are getting stronger, droughts more prolonged, floodwaters moving inland, summers hotter, winters colder, topsoil degrading, wildfires blazing, and biodiversity shrinking. I am committed to voting in November because I believe that we must do something about the existential threat of Climate Change.

As each month passes and there is no collective action, I recognize that we need radical action. I fear that I will enter my golden years watching mass climate migration, water wars, and regular devastating weather-related emergencies. I fear that we are not developing the green technologies of the present and future. I believe that we will not see racial justice, economic justice, or social justice without addressing environmental justice. Climate Change is the problem that we know is there but is unwilling to do anything about it. I am committed to voting in November because I believe that we must do something about the existential threat of Climate Change.

I am a proponent of the Green New Deal. I welcome Vice President Biden’s Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice.  I want to see the United States re-enter the Paris Climate Agreement. Climate Change is an issue that will impact every human being on planet earth, and it is time that we start doing something about it. If you were to have asked me four years ago if Climate Change was an important issue, I would have said, yes, it is undoubtedly in my top five list of topics. Climate Change is now my number one issue because if we don’t do something about it, all the other problems won’t matter. The activism inspires me from folks in my generation, Generation Z and Alpha. I will never forget Greta Thunberg’s Speech, for it is carved into my soul. For that, I am committed to voting in November because I believe we must do something about the existential threat of Climate Change.