Decision 2008: The conventions are over; now comes the hard part

I don't wax political too often, but as we enter the last 8 weeks of our U.S. presidential election, I'll throw in my two cents worth. No, I won't tell you my choice; my opinion is my vote and you're smart enough to make your own call. Just be sure to get the facts.

Having finished their convention speeches, right now both candidates are talking a similar game: change. And when it comes to the environment, they're both throwing out pretty much the same promises. So, you're going to have to do some homework. We have a lot of important national issues to address, but in the big picture (something politicians are notoriously unable to deal with), Nature - the environment, conservation, climate change - will trump them all.

Former Vice President Al Gore has chosen to focus his efforts towards environmental issues, specifically global warming. Okay, cynics, it has brought him fame and some fortune, but he does realize that in the end, environmental issues make all other problems look like small potatoes.

So think hard about your choices: Who can bring together the people in a common purpose regarding the environment? Who can move the forces of politics and commerce in the right direction? Who is determined to set us on a new course beyond our 100-year old fossil fuel industrial model?

After all the cheers, balloons and confetti have subsided, where will we be? What happens in the next 4 to 8 years can have a lasting impact for decades or longer. Think hard. It's only the planet's future at stake.