Yesterday, Greenopia, a leading environmental consumer interest website and blog, released a comprehensive rankingof all 50 United States governors. Part of Greenopia's mission is to keep consumers (and voters) informed on issues of eco-friendly importance. Their Greenest Governors project reveals which state governments are most dedicated to preserving the environment.

Topping the ranking was Colorado's Bill Ritter. As a Boulder, CO-based company, we're proud to have the nation's "Greenest Governor". Ritter has championed renewable energy development by building a "New Energy Economy" all across Colorado. Gov. Ritter's focus has led to a doubling of Colorado's renewable energy requirement and to the creation of Colorado's first Climate Action Plan. He says, "While renewable energy and energy conservation are vital to our environmental future, the recession has also made it clear how important they are to our economic future. Thanks to our New Energy Economy, we are creating thousands of new jobs, attracting scores of new companies and leading the way toward greater energy independence through research and innovation.”

Other rankees rounding out the top five include Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Ted Kulongowski of Oregon, Christine Gregoire of Washington state, and John Baldacci of Maine (in that order).

Greenopia undertook the ranking as a response to the growing demand by voters for environmental initiatives across the U.S. They note that "Over the past few years we have begun to see certain states emerging as environmental leaders by enacting environmental laws stricter than the federal guidelines. Different states have gone to greater or lesser lengths to protect the environment and to create more sustainable development. Thus, we wanted to see how the states were doing and find out who the greenest governors in the US were and what green action they were taking."

Greenopia used the following criteria for ranking state executives:

• Environmental initiatives including climate, energy, conservation, water, pollution, clean-up, and tax incentives for green
• Magnitude of these policies relative to other governors
• Transparency of the governor through political courage tests or the state webpage
• Renewable energy usage correlated to the state's suitability for various alternative energies
• Per capita emissions and energy usage to gauge the effectiveness of state policies

Greenopia sites the governor's own web pages and credible sites such as VoteSmart and OnTheIssues as data sources for this study, with energy and emission data collected from the Department of Energy. Read more about the Greenest Governors.

How does your state rank? Want to take your own environmental initiatives to the next level? How about a wind power plan for your home or a carbon offset package for your car? We've also got great resources for businesses and our free online Business Carbon Calculator can get you started.

PERSONALLY SPEAKING
Colorado is one of the most beautiful places in the country to live, work and play. We spend a lot of time outdoors and live close to our environment. It's great to be in a state where people not only use the natural setting to its fullest, but where its leaders also fight to protect the global ecosystem we're a part of. ~ Heather

Heather Philipp is Director of Media & Communications for Renewable Choice