Guest blog written by Christy Slye

I am a middle-aged, married, white woman -- one of over seven billion humans occupying this planet.

I was born in 1969… the year of Woodstock and the first American moonwalk. The Summer of Love was spreading across the country, yet not everyone fell in love with Mother Earth; that Summer passed by my homogenously white, rural community. We were high on agriculture but not on protecting the most prized resource.

Me circa 1973 in America’s Dairyland with my blue-collar dad

Judy Blume was the popular author for girls, but I grew up loving numbers and science; I became a scientist.

Prepping for a bio-analytical chemistry experiment

Today at 51, I’m a wannabe hippie and runner. I changed careers more than a decade ago to work in the running industry. Both personally and professionally, I try to be a champion for sustainability, but I know my voice is tiny.

I’m afraid that you can’t hear me. I do prefer to listen, but I have a flame burning in my belly making me speak-out! I have to amplify my small voice:

Please stop destroying this planet!

We are not entitled to drink from single-use bottles and throw plastic bags and straws into the oceans, harming aquatic plants and animals. We are not entitled to waste natural resources and accelerate global warming. We are to blame for the climate change that is causing our forests to burn around the globe, destroying habitats, and consuming the oxygen we need to breathe. We are to blame for rising ocean temperatures spinning up more powerful tropical storms threatening coastal lands.

The most important issue for me this election is our environment. I will vote for the candidates that trust the data and will take meaningful action to reverse effects of climate change and abuse to our planet. With smarter representation we can legislate meaningful policies to protect our environment at home and around the globe. If you go deeper, you’ll realize this kind of legislation can change how our food is grown and harvested, how our products are manufactured, and how we move around on public and private transportation. Imagine living on the future Earth where our food is nutrition-rich and we’re not creating new plastic from petroleum — we’re recycling and re-using the supplies already in play. Going even deeper, imagine how these mandated changes improve social equity: safer, affordable food; homes, schools, and play areas built from green materials; and jobs that aren’t hazardous to our health. It all comes full circle and can have an effect during our lives and future generations.

It’s definitely not too late. What I described is not science fiction; so much work has been done that needs a caring audience and consumers. I am going to vote for the brightest candidates that support environmental legislation and can share their policies with a broader audience.

Meanwhile, when you participate in Running For Office take note:

· A large portion ($12) of your registration fee becomes a donation to America Votes. They were chosen in part because they advocate environmental causes: Climate Reality Action Fund, Environment America, League of Conservation Voters, and the Sierra Club.

· Team Sierra, the event fundraising arm of the Sierra Club, is co-marketing with us and encouraging their fundraisers to be involved.

· Merchandise is manufactured by our friends, Recover Brands. Recover has their polyester made by grinding recycled plastic bottles. Their cotton fiber is upcycled, shredded, and divided into a color family. As an example, one tee shirt makes use of 8 plastic bottles, and its color comes from the upcycled cotton, not another chemical dye.

· The packaging we are using to mail your swag comes from The Better Packaging Company. You should compost it or throw it in your green bin. If you receive a paper envelope, please recycle with your other discarded paper.

· By definition a virtual challenge doesn’t require you to burn fossil fuel traveling to the event location. Keeping a hyper-local footprint, reduces your energy use.

I am shedding any reluctance I had to sharing my values and how I’m voting. I understand this is discomforting for some. However, if we do not talk about what is important, how can we unite to vote for what is important? The point of our democracy is to be represented. Please find your activism (your why) and join me. Please do not be apathetic or yield to the desires of privilege. MOVE. SHARE. VOTE.

I wanted to inspire people to keep moving, provide a platform to speak-out, and encourage everyone to vote their values. Running For Office was created by me and my colleagues to encourage voters to support what we collectively hold dear. I needed this platform to find my voice. Maybe it will help you find yours as well.

#runningmates #exercisetovote

Are You There, It’s Me Christy

Guest blog written by Christy Slye