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Greenopia Ranks 50 State Governors for Environmental Responsibility
by Greenopia Team
Greenopia's research team has released a new ranking: this time it's a comprehensive ranking of all 50 United States governors. Topping the list is Governor Bill Ritter of Colorado followed closely by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California. The entire ranking results are available at 50 Greenest Governors. See Top Ten below.
"We looked at all 50 governors in the US and compared their policies, transparency, and interest group ratings and ranked them. It was a monumental task," said Doug Mazeffa, Greenopia's director of research. "People want to know which Governors are the eco-leaders or laggards, and especially identify those making repeated eco-gaffes."
Data for this study was collected from each governor's own web pages and cross-checked against credible sites such as VoteSmart and OnTheIssues. Energy and emission data was collected from the Department of Energy and the environmental platform data for each political party was collected from either the DNC or RNC's main site.
As part of Greenopia's mission to keep consumers (and voters) informed on issues of eco-friendly importance, the Greenest Governors project reveals which state governments are most dedicated to preserving the environment. The US Constitution preserves the notion that America is a federation of sovereign states and legal powers not specifically granted to the federal government are retained by the states. This means that Governors and state legislatures hold significant sway over state-based green initiatives and policies.
"Over the past few years we have begun to see certain states emerging as environmental leaders," remarked Gay Browne, Greenopia founder and CEO. "Those states enacting environmental laws stricter than federal guidelines have gone to greater lengths to protect the environment and to create more sustainable development, including green jobs."
The Top Ten Greenest Governors
| Comments (19): | Write a Comment | ||
| Name: Anonymous | Date: 12/11/2009 9:35:24 AM | ||
| I have been recycling and conserving and trying to be concious of the environment for my entire life of 46 years. At this point I am so sick of hearing go green and save the planet and seeing what environmentalist nut jobs are causing in this nation. We should all be stewards of the earth but the extremism is out of hand and out of disgust I am ready to reject environmental policy Just to oppose the extremists. | |||
| Name: Anonymous | Date: 9/21/2009 6:53:09 PM | ||
| Gov. Ritter of Colorado just stole $2.7 million out of a fund to help dispose of scrap tires. Colorado has an estimated 6 million scrap tires stockpiled and Gov. Ritter feels it is not a priority to recycle these. In fact, it is the States policy to allow these stockpiles to grow. Pretty green, huh. | |||
| Name: Anonymous | Date: 7/29/2009 4:24:38 PM | ||
| Surprised NJ's Corzine was ranked TOO high and positive--his "state" has TREMENDOUS, ugly, unsolved urban litter problems. NJ's the "LOUISIANA OF THE NORTHEAST"--at the BOTTOM--in regards to ridding its litter from public properties. Anyone traveling the 50 states will take notice that Jersey's litter removal performances are of the nation's WORST. Arrests last week for local/county/township corruption across the misnamed "Garden State" prove the point. Corzine has FAILED the people of New Jersey environmentally--his true behavior and policy actions are more akin to fellow DEEP SOUTH Republican mentors Jindal, Babour and Perry. | |||
| Name: Anonymous | Date: 7/29/2009 4:13:08 PM | ||
| Thank you--this will be a great indicator to use when I research states for a certain environmental performance condition. | |||
| Name: Anonymous | Date: 7/23/2009 1:18:02 PM | ||
| How does Arnold Schwarzengger rate number 2 when he commutes from Los Angeles to Sacramento (350+ miles, one way) via his private Gulfstrem jet? | |||
| Name: Anonymous | Date: 7/17/2009 8:38:03 PM | ||
| Governor Douglas earned the nickname "DoesLess" for a reason. He's great at taking credit for others' efforts, but does nothing to deserve that credit. He fights tooth and nail against every effort to protect our environment. Vermont's "green" reputation is due, entirely, to the people who work day-in and day-out to keep DoesLess from getting his way. | |||
| Name: Anonymous | Date: 7/10/2009 12:42:02 PM | ||
| I can't believe you ranked Governor Douglas 8th. He has vetoed and been against so many "green projects" including his Clean and Clear is failing to clean up Lake Champlain and he wants to let ATVs on state land | |||
| Name: Real Vermonter | Date: 7/7/2009 9:31:58 AM | ||
| I can't believe Jim Douglas made the top 30, much less top ten Governors. While he is no environmentalist, he is very skilled at fighting green initiatives and then taking credit for them once they are passed without his support. Next time do your homework! | |||
| Name: Ben Albee Fairfax, VT | Date: 7/2/2009 10:00:21 AM | ||
| I have to question the ranking of Jim Douglas as #8 on this list. I think he has managed to ride the coattails of both those in the environmental movement doing the real work, as well as the environmental reputation of the state of Vermont itself, which has certainly not been bolstered by any efforts of the Douglas administration. To cite one example and contradiction is his willingness to permit the use of ATVs and snowmobiles on state lands, while at the same time opposing the creation of any significant wind power development because of a supposed spoiling of Vermont's natural beauty. | |||
| Name: Ethan Maurer | Date: 7/2/2009 5:42:44 AM | ||
| I am disapointed that Jim Douglas was rated so high on this list. As a resident of the state, I have seen time and time again how un-green Douglas really is. His track record on the environment does not seem very good. Recentyly, he has focused many budget cuts on the Agency of Natural Resources while keeping many highly paid Public Relations staffers in his office. He has vetoed legislation related to the nuclear plant, vetoed legislation around energy efficency and climate change. Additionally, he support for cleaning up Lake Champlain seem much like everything else he does...talk but not act. | |||
| Name: Tony Gordon, Marlboro, Vermont | Date: 7/1/2009 6:40:22 PM | ||
| Jim Douglas does not belong on this list. He is the governor who vetoed a bill authorizing the once-in-a-lifetime purchase of the hydro dams on the Connecticut River by the state of Vermont because he does not believe in public power. This zero carbon emitting complex of dams was sold to a for-profit Canadian company that now controls a resource that could have belonged to the people of Vermont. He also vetoed a bill requiring Entergy Nuclear Power Co. to fully fund decommissioning costs for the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power plant in Vernon VT before the license for the plant can be extended. These are not the acts of a green governor. All he has done has been to follow in the legislature's footsteps and call its work his own. | |||
| Name: BP09 | Date: 7/1/2009 4:22:21 PM | ||
| Something is really a miss if Gov.Jim Douglas of Vermont is on this list. He has terrible record with respect to water quality in Lake Champlain and most often is dragged kicking and screaming into taking any action on the environment. | |||
| Name: Jim Douglas | Date: 7/1/2009 3:30:12 PM | ||
| He's so green. What a ridiculous list. Jim Douglas is far from being green. He vetoes legislation all the time. Climate change, nuclear power cleanup, nuclear power efficiency, water quality, and layoffs and permit reform. Jim Douglas is a joke. He's far from green. | |||
| Name: VT Concerned Citizen | Date: 7/1/2009 3:27:53 PM | ||
| The bar must be really, really low if Jim Douglas is 8th in the country. Here's a list of his infractions: Allowing ATVs on state land. Vetoed decommissioning bill for VT Yankee. Vetoed an efficiency charge for VT Yankee. Vetoed climate change bills. Failed to clean up Lake Champlain. VT water quality continues to be abysmal. | |||
| Name: Steve Wright | Date: 7/1/2009 1:32:40 PM | ||
| Jim Douglas of Vermont ranked #8? Outrageous. Governor Douglas and his administration have the worst environmental record in my 40 years of observing and participating in Vermont public affairs. Did you speak with anyone who is familiar with the Douglas record? Get real folks. Steve | |||
| Name: Green Vermonter | Date: 7/1/2009 1:18:46 PM | ||
| Vermont's Douglas has done more damage to the environment in Vermont in his 6 years in office than we could possibly have imagined. Gutted the Agency of Natural Resources in recent staff cuts after revolving door Secretaries of that Agency -- 4 in 6 years, appointed a totally unqualified Commissioner of Public Service who has steadfastly refused to plan in favor of keeping the nuclear power plant operating. The most honest thing Douglas has said is "it's like Homer Simpson's running the plant." | |||
| Name: Green Voter | Date: 7/1/2009 1:05:37 PM | ||
| One has to wonder how much work went into these rankings or if this is just a front group for some other interest. Governor Douglas has been working against environmental issues since he was first elected. | |||
| Name: Vermonter | Date: 6/30/2009 12:38:48 PM | ||
| I'll second what Anonymous said about Jody Rell - except in reference to VT governor Jim Douglas. He is not green, he's red. We're green - but he shouldn't get credit for the efforts of thousands of VTers and the VT Legislature. He fights us every day - on issues like environmental policy, clean energy, sprawl, and our aging nuclear plant, he is an anti-environmental Republican. | |||
| Name: Anonymous | Date: 6/25/2009 9:34:18 PM | ||
| You have ranked Jodi Rell way too high. What you don't see is how she fights against green jobs, the hydrogen economy and tries to steal the Conservation and Load Management and Clean Energy Funds into the General Fund. | |||
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