The Power of Voting

In 1920—just over 100 years ago—women in the United States were finally given the right to vote. This change came about because of the passion and commitment of leaders like Susan B. Anthony, a champion of women’s voting rights, the abolition of slavery, labor rights, and equal pay for equal work—all systems of society that at one time met strong resistance from people in power.

Susan’s work showed us that real change happens when citizens come together to demand approaches and programs that work—and that, by uniting around a common cause, we can change the rules of the game.

As the programs director for Polar Bears International, I work with many of our conservation and education partners across the globe. One of the most common questions I’m asked is: “What can I do to help polar bears?”

For polar bears, the loss of sea ice habitat due to climate change is the single biggest threat. Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt, breed, and sometimes den. But we can’t build a fence around the polar bear’s melting habitat and we can’t assign wildlife officers to guard the gate. Instead, the key to saving sea ice and getting the climate back to functioning the way it should is to greatly reduce carbon emissions, meeting the goal set at the Paris Climate Agreement to keep temperature rise to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

We can all do our part to reduce emissions through our day-to-day choices, but to achieve the level of reductions needed, we must focus our efforts on working to change systems and the rules of the game—just like Susan B. Anthony did! It’s time to get to work as a global society to demand that our leaders rethink and reduce our energy use.

In fact, the single most important thing that we can all do for polar bears is to TALK about climate change and to VOTE with the climate in mind, in each and every election., The U.S. is holding midterm elections next week and, once again, action on climate change is on the ballot. Can we count on you to vote for candidates who support climate action—helping to ensure the polar bears’ future and our own?

We can all do our part to support candidates, at all levels, who support a shift away from fossil fuels—making renewable energy options like solar and wind the easy, and affordable, choice for all of us.

But this is absolutely not specific to the U.S.! No matter where in the world you live, you can VOTE FOR POLAR BEARS!

Concern for the climate is normal and looking out for the well-being of others is something we all have in common. Voting gives you a voice in our shared future. Let’s put a healthy and just planet first and come together to preserve a future for polar bears—and improve conditions for all of us.

Visit our Vote For Polar Bears page to learn more and find out if you are #VoteReady. And make a donation between now and the election and we’ll send you a Vote for Polar Bears sticker like the one above.