The big loser in the 2010 Gubernatorial elections is America’s clean energy economy. Overall, the Republicans picked up 11 governorships from the Democrats: Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The GOP also gained back the Florida governorship. By comparison, the Dems only picked up California, Hawaii and Vermont.

The race is still officially undecided in Connecticut, although reports indicate that the Republican candidate is ahead, and in Minnesota the winner has yet to be announced, but the Republican candidate is said to be leading.

The governors of Illinois, New Mexico, Kansas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Wyoming are global warming deniers and conspiracy theorists who are getting ready to lead a crusade against a rational approach to climate change.

In Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, four Democratic governors who have supported clean energy were replaced by Republicans who are beholden to the old energy economy.

Republican governors are now virtually unanimous in their dismissal of global warming. They do not recognize the threat posed by climate change, nor do they support clean energy.

By denying the fact of global warming, Republican governors preclude the need to respond. However, what seems like a clever political strategy may in fact prove to be disastrous. By eschewing clean energy opportunities these governors risk turning their states into economic wastelands.    _____________________________________________________
  Richard Matthews is a consultant, sustainable investor and writer. He is the owner of THE GREEN MARKET, one of the Web’s most comprehensive resources for information and tools on sustainability. He is also the author of numerous articles on sustainable positioning, green investing, enviro-politics and eco-capitalism.