With the Democratic and Republican Presidential hopefuls gearing up their campaigns, politics are on a lot of peoples’ minds. Lucky for us, Grist has an excellent list of 15 of the globe’s best green politicians (with 4 additional runners-up), so should you happen to find yourself living in one of these areas, you have a better idea of who to vote for to clean your green conscience.

I’m happy to know two of the top 15 (and one runner up, to boot) represent me in various levels of government — but California’s already got a good rep as a pro-environment state. More surprising are inclusions like the mayor of red-state capital Salt Lake City and the leader of the British Conservative Party … and then there’s Helen Clark, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, who wants to make her country the first completely carbon neutral nation on the planet.

Talk about ambitious…

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by Casey Schreiner

Founder and Editor of Modern Hiker, Author of "Day Hiking Los Angeles." "Discovering Griffith Park," and "Cloud Spotting." Walking Meditator, Native Plant Enthusiast.