My grandfather has skied every winter since the 1960s. He’s 74 years old and has no desire to stop. I hope that I’ll still be snowboarding at 74, but that will only happen if there is still snow on the ground, which will only happen if the United States takes clear and grand action to combat global warming, which will only happen if Joe Biden is elected president this week.
In the 2016 United States presidential election, only 61% of eligible voters cast their ballot, resulting in one of the most contentious elections in our country’s history. Many voters are disillusioned, each with their own perceived notion of why they don’t need to vote. Some people don’t vote because they think the choice is too difficult or insignificant.
It isn’t.
Let’s look at the youngest voters: the 18-29 demographic. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this group has the lowest voter turnout by a significant margin, even though it is the group with the most to gain or lose in an election. In his op-ed “If You Care About Snowboarding, Show Up to Vote,” professional snowboarder Danny Davis notes that this age range approximately aligns with most members of the snowboarding community, who have a clear and obvious reason to vote: global warming.
Simply put, the globe is warming, so the snow is melting. No snow means no snowboarding and no skiing. Year after year, snowfall in the northern United States has been erratic, and winter sports are feeling the effects of that all too well. Often, the only way ski resorts in my home state of Massachusetts can accommodate riders is to use giant machines to make and spread snow on the trails. Earlier this year I was able to snowboard at Wachusett Mountain wearing nothing heavier than a t-shirt on what should have been a cold February night. Global temperatures are rising, and if this continues without government intervention, snowboarders and skiers will need to find new hobbies.
So snowboarders should definitely show up to vote, but which candidate should they vote for? After all, there are two candidates who have each convinced a lot of people to vote for them, and there are even more third-party candidates who may have more attractive platforms. When viewed from this angle, the choice seems difficult or even impossible.
It isn’t. Vote for Joe Biden.
There is a stark difference between the climate plans of Joe Biden and Donald Trump: Joe Biden has a plan. Donald Trump’s actions as president have moved the United States in the opposite direction of combatting global warming. He will not admit that global warming poses a serious threat to our country, despite the view shared by the rest of the world. Last year, Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, sending “a strong message to the rest of the world that the US no longer shared the international consensus on climate change,” according to BBC environmental correspondent Matt McGrath.
The Paris Climate Agreement is an agreement between almost every country on Earth to “undertake ambitious efforts” to lessen the effects of global warming, and to help developing countries do the same. So by withdrawing from this agreement, Donald Trump makes it known that his administration will not “undertake ambitious efforts” to stop global temperatures from rising, that they will do nothing to stop the snow from melting, and that they will do nothing to preserve our global environment.
Joe Biden’s climate plan ensures that the U.S. will have net-zero emissions by 2050, meaning that all the greenhouse gasses we release into the atmosphere are reclaimed through any number of policies such as reforestation or directly capturing the gasses. Biden also plans to build more sustainable infrastructure and transportation systems which will be reliant on clean energy instead of non-renewable resources. In addition to doing more for the environment than Donald Trump has ever done, these projects would stimulate the economy and help our nation recover from the current recession. This information about Joe Biden’s climate plans and more can be found on his campaign website. I would love to direct you to Trump’s plan to address global warming on his campaign website, but unfortunately no such page exists.
“But wait,” you say. “Joe Biden and Donald Trump aren’t the only candidates on the ballot. I’ll vote for a third-party candidate!” Please don’t. Any vote for a third party is simply a vote against Joe Biden. This election will certainly be close, so Joe Biden needs every vote he can get to defeat Donald Trump. Listen to me, a registered member of the Green Party. I could have voted for my party’s candidate, who I agree with more than Joe Biden, or I could have even written in the name of someone who I thought would do a better job as president than any of the formal candidates. But I didn’t. I proudly and without hesitation cast my mail-in ballot for Joe Biden because I cannot stand the thought of another four years of counterproductive legislation and denial that global warming is even a problem.
I know that I will snowboard again. I better snowboard again because I didn’t buy a brand-new K2 Broadcast to let it collect dust. I know my friends will ski again, and maybe I’ll be able to convince some of them that snowboarding is better. And I know that most of the people who I shared those long bus rides up to Wachusett Mountain will be back there again, because winter sports were responsible for some of the best memories I made in high school.
So if you’re a snowboarder, a skier, or anyone else who wants to see the nature they love preserved for decades to come, vote. Vote early if you can. Check your state’s voting procedures and request a mail-in ballot if there’s still time. If you have at least one great memory of enjoying the outdoors, do whatever it takes to ensure that when all the votes are counted and the winner is declared, your ballot is in the “Joe Biden” pile.