Elections occur every year in the United States, but for most Americans there is only one that truly matters--that of the President, which takes place every four years. This year, the contest is between Democrat Hillary Clinton (the first woman ever to be nominated for this office) and Republican Donald Trump (a reality-show host and real-estate salesman with no political experience whatsoever). Needless to say, many voters have taken environmental aspects into consideration when they vote. However, there is a catch to doing this.
As well as the traditional Democratic and Republican parties, there also exists a separate Green party, represented this year by Jill Stein. The Green party entire platform revolves around environmentalism, which makes it attractive to many people who have such ideals. However, as a third party, the Green party is not actually intended to be capable of winning an election, but simply of drawing votes away from one or both candidates. This was what happened in 2000, when Green candidate Ralph Nader indirectly contributed to Democrat Al Gore's loss to Republican George W. Bush. Most of those who voted for Nader were left-leaning citizens who might ordinarily have voted for a Democrat but thought Nader embodied their ideals better.
So if you intend to vote this year, and wish to vote on environmental issues, take this into account. I know that Stein is tempting, but voting for her ultimately accomplishes nothing and eventually may do more harm than good. Hillary Clinton's environmental policies may not be as clear-cut as Jill Stein's, but if she is elected they have a much greater chance of actually being put into action.
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