I am a registered republican for four main reasons:

1. I believe in working hard for the money in my own pocket so that I can afford the things that I need. This sense of being a hardworking participant in society was instilled in me by my parents who never really gave me an allowance, required me to get a job at the age of 16, and provided me with the necessities in life without handing me every little thing that I wanted. This benefited me in the long run because I am now able to self-manage my money and work hard for the things that I want in life.

2. I believe in less intrusive government. Yes, the government is responsible for creating beneficial laws for its citizens but I believe that it often oversteps its bounds. The government makes laws to protect the health and well-being of its citizens, but in doing so, it sometimes takes away from their rights and freedoms.

3. I believe in entrepreneurship and innovation. I believe that entrepreneurs, independent contractors, and small businessmen and women should be able to invent and create in a land of free markets. Their enterprise is necessary for the life of our economy, but it is unfortunately weakening. More businesses are closing than are starting, older firms as opposed to new ones are an increasing proportion of companies, and productivity is slowing. This is not the way to jumpstart a new era of growth and that is why I vote to change it.

4. I believe in protecting the lives of the unborn. I believe that a civilized society does not permit any one human to intentionally harm or take the life of another. And I don't believe that abortion is any different. Every individual has the potential to be amazing.

I am a registered republican for these four main reasons and I also believe in climate change. Shocking, I know. How is this possible? Now that I have you on the edge of your chair let me tell you how...

Because I'm not stupid.

I like to think that my life experiences these past 20.5 years have given me the knowledge and ability to formulate educated opinions. That is why I believe in global warming and I worry about biodiversity. In the long run, if emissions continue to rise unchecked then scientists fear climate effects so severe that they could potentially destabilize governments, produce mass amounts of refugees, contribute to the extinction of plants and animals, and melt polar ice caps causing sea levels to rise and flood coastal cities. The science is clear.

I hear this information, process it, research it, think about it logically and in this case, believe it. I believe it because I'm not ignorant.

It seems as if it's a trend for environmentalists to scorn those who dare question "the holy trinity of global warming, overpopulation, and eventual starvation." Environmentalists seem to place all of this blame on republicans long before even having the opportunity to sit down and ask a person what their actual stance on an issue is.

I consider myself a small government republican and I believe in climate change.

Just because a voter affiliates with a specific party does not mean that they share the same narrow-minded beliefs as the other voters within that party. Some republicans are pro-choice yet still registered as republicans and support a republican candidate because maybe other issues hold more value to them. Do I think Donald Trump is the best candidate for the republican party? Hell no. Am I going to vote for him? Yeah, probably. I stand by the core principles that he supports on taxes, foreign policy, immigration and abortion.

I am tired of being accused of not caring about the environment because I'm a republican. I believe that many companies and large corporations are working towards clean energy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. I am not blind to this and I am confident that many other republicans are not either. So please, for the love of the environment, stop grouping us all together.