Election outcomes are determined just as much by who doesn't vote as by who does. The Environmental Voter Project estimates that 11.2 million environmentalists didn't vote in the 2024 presidential election. And they found that many more skip midterm, state, and local elections. If these non-voters started voting for pro-environment candidates in every election, the United States would quickly transform into a completely different country.

10 Reasons Why Voting for Pro-Environment Candidates Is Literally the Most Important Thing You Can Do for Earth's Future

1. Policy beats personal choices every time.

Skipping straws and recycling are great, but one pro-environment lawmaker can eliminate millions of tons of industrial pollution through policy changes. Systemic change requires systemic levers.

2. Environmental rollbacks happen fast — and last decades.

We've seen clean air rules, protected lands, and emissions standards dismantled in single administrations. Environmental damage can be irreversible or take years to recover from. Every election is a chance to protect or undo years of hard-won progress.

3. Climate change has a deadline.

Scientists are clear: we have a narrow window to limit warming to 1.5–2°C. Elections happen every 2–4 years. Missing even one cycle can cost us irreplaceable time when the clock is already running out.

4. Local elections determine land use, water, and air quality.

Your city council and county commissioners decide where factories go, how water is managed, and what pollution standards local businesses must meet. These races are often decided by dozens of votes.

5. Courts are shaped by elected officials.

Judges and attorneys general who enforce (or gut) environmental law are appointed or elected through political processes. A pro-environment vote today can protect ecosystems in courtrooms for 20+ years.

6. Fossil fuel interests spend billions influencing elections.

The opposition is organized and funded. Every vote for pro-environment candidates is a direct counter to corporate lobbying that works tirelessly to keep the status quo.

7. International climate agreements depend on domestic political will.

The U.S., EU, China, and other major emitters only honor global climate commitments when their governments are pressured to do so domestically. Your vote shapes whether your country leads or abandons the table.

8. Biodiversity loss is irreversible.

Once a species goes extinct, it's gone forever. Pro-environment candidates pass legislation and fund conservation programs that protect millions of species.

9. Environmental justice is on the ballot too.

Low-income communities disproportionately bear the burden of pollution and climate impacts. Voting for pro-environment candidates means fighting for human rights as much as ecological ones.

10. Apathy is a vote for the status quo.

When environmentally-conscious people stay home, they hand power to those who aren't. In close races — which most are — non-voters decide the outcome just as surely as those who show up.

The bottom line: You can drive an EV, go vegan, solar-panel your roof, and still have far less impact than casting a single, informed ballot. Please vote in every election and for every office on each ballot.

Nature needs your voice!

This is the difference NOT voting - and not voting for Democrats - makes. Contractors building Trump's southwest border wall are bulldozing portions of Big Bend National Park in Texas, sparking fresh outrage from longtime area residents.