Taylor Bates, a recent high school graduate from Williston, Vermont, knew the competition to be a delegate to the Democratic National Convention would be tough. With nearly 200 people competing for 23 delegate and four alternate spots in the Vermont delegation, Taylor had to be creative with his platform.

That’s when the idea came: He could campaign on the platform to offset carbon emissions for every Vermont delegate, as part of the DNCC’s “Green Delegate Challenge.”

It was a tough sell at first. Vermont Democrats were skeptical: How could an 18-year old raise more than $200 to offset the carbon emissions for all of the 27 delegates and alternates? With a little help from his skills as a champion in extemporaneous speaking, Bates managed to convince his fellow state Dems to elect him to be an Obama at-large delegate – the youngest member of the Vermont delegation.

Thanks to Bates’ determination, Vermont also became the second state in the U.S. to offset the carbon emissions created from the full delegation’s travel to the Convention.

So, how will he raise the money?

“I want to have a community auction for friends and family with Democrat and Convention memorabilia and maybe even an autograph or two from a famous party leader,” said Bates. “Senator Obama’s signature sure would be nice.”