Al Gore is something of a phenomenon. In 2000, he lost a presidential election despite winning a majority of the popular vote, and today, he's on the road to winning an election he's not even running in. That's right: A poll conducted by CNN in October shows Gore in third place for the 2008 democratic primary with 14 percent of the vote.

This startling poll result begs the question: If people are voting for a candidate who's not actually running, what are they really voting for?

The answer is simple. Americans are voting green. They are voting for the government to take action on global warming. Over the past seven years, Gore has concentrated his efforts on a single issue: Preventing the impending climate crisis. Gore and his supporters are demanding that America go green.

Going green isn't just about saving the polar bears. True, for the first time ever, polar bears are drowning because blocks of ice in the arctic are fewer and farther between, sometimes leaving them stranded at sea.

Global warming, however, is affecting more than just the glaciers; it's drastically changing conditions all over the planet.

Scientists predict that the Dead Sea will dry up within the next decade. Major lakes in Asia and Africa have shrunk over the past few years, threatening to cause severe water shortages for the surrounding populations. And cities across the United States are experiencing record high temperatures. Warmer weather causes fiercer and more frequent storms, like, that's right, Hurricane Katrina. In short, the world is gradually becoming less habitable.

You might have thought that only superheroes have the power to conjure storms and melt glaciers, but in this brave new world, ordinary humans like you and me have the power to release carbon dioxide emissions that feed into the chain reaction that leads to global warming.

We now have the power to affect the natural forces of the world. But in the words of Spiderman's Uncle Ben: "With great power comes great responsibility." Al Gore is here to save the world by taking on that responsibility, and a growing number of Americans are joining him.

Gore has kept busy since he lost-or won-the 2000 election. He has given hundreds of speeches across the country, has produced an Academy Award-winning documentary and even hosted a global rock concert, Live Earth, to raise awareness about global warming.

Still, Gore's superpowers are limited. He can encourage people to be greener individuals-to use public transportation, install energy efficient light bulbs and drive hybrids-but he can't force America to be a greener nation.

Only our government can make the kind of changes on a national level that are necessary to really halt global warming, such as replacing coal burning plants with nuclear, solar and wind power, raising auto emissions standards and holding corporations responsible for the CO2 they release.

That's why this presidential election is so crucial. In 2008, America is making a bigger decision than whether we will be in or out of Operation Iraqi Freedom. We need to decide if we are in or out of what one might call "Operation Earth." The 14 percent who support Gore have made their choice.

However, when election day comes, Gore's 14 percent will be distributed among the other democratic candidates, and the one who gets the biggest slice of the Gore pie will be the one with the best global warming policy.

This 14 percent could potentially be the deciding factor in the primaries. It may not sound like much, but for the Democratic presidential candidates, it means either go green or goodbye.