September 29, 2010 12:12 AM UTC

Governor Ritter Graded on Environmental issues

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• by: ColoradoConservationVoters

( – promoted by ClubTwitty)

Earlier today, we released Governor Ritter’s 2007-2010 Conservation Report Card.  The Report Card is a quick and readable synopsis of the Governor’s work on conservation issues these last four years.  Click here to check it out.

Not many people reading this post will be surprised to learn that Gov. Ritter earns high marks.  We gave him an A+ in his trademark issue, the New Energy Economy.  He also scored well on Responsible Oil and Gas Development (A), Water (A-), and Global Warming (A-).  He does quite well on Mining (B+) and holds his own on Open Spaces and Wild Places (B).  The only category were he lagged significantly was Smart Growth and Transportation (C+).

As I say in the letter that opens the Report Card, if the Governor were using these grades as part of an application to college, he would be accepted to a number of excellent schools.  

Why issue a Report Card on the Governor’s work as his term winds down?  Several reasons.

First, he deserves recognition for all of the work he has done on the critical environmental issues of the day.  Colorado is a stunningly beautiful state.  We all want to protect our mountains, rivers, open spaces, and clear blue skies.  But, we don’t always agree on how best to do that.  The Governor had a vision for what our energy mix should look like, how clean our air must be, and how we should protect our air, land, and water from the pressures of energy development.  He fought for that vision and was successful more times than not.  Colorado is better off for his work.

Second, we wanted to point out where he fell short.  It wasn’t often that we disagreed with him or that he failed to move ahead on an important issue.  But, there were occasions.  History demands a fair accounting.

Finally, the Report Card is a tool to highlight some of what is left to be done.  Four years is a small window in time. Whether it is solving our transportation conundrum and the related pressures of growth on our land and water; or carefully planning for our future water needs to ensure we don’t damage important ecological resources; or continuing to make progress on the defining environmental problem of our time, Global Warming, we need to continue to forge ahead.  Quickly.  We look forward to working with the next administration to do just that.

Check out the Report Card and let us know what you think.