Debriefing

Grist's Amanda Griscom Little recaps the midterms in an item entitled, "How Green Was My Election?" Here's an outtake:

Of the nine candidates [the League of Conservation Voters] named to its list of "Environmental Champions", eight were reelected. And of the 13 active candidates on LCV's "Dirty Dozen" list (someone's got a bit of a counting problem), "we beat nine of them," said LCV's Karpinski.

Said Sierra Club's Duvall, "The striking thing isn't just that the energy/environment issue played a decisive role in these races, it's that it was used to bring an optimistic, inspirational message to an election year marked by lots of negative campaigning."

The thing I find the most fascinating is the widely held view that Arnold Schwarzenegger owes his reelection to his signing into law the first mandatory caps on carbon emissions. I mean, there's some very rich irony for you: The man who gave America the Hummer rode climate legislation to a second term as Governor of California. Go figure.