Election Results: What Last Night Meant for Nebraska

Midterm elections were last night and the "Democalypse" has taken its toll.  For those of you just tuning in, Republicans took over multiple contested seats in order to gain Senate majority and a stronger influence overall.

So what does this mean for us tree-huggers?  Well things aren't looking that good, especially in Nebraska.

Last night we elected Pete Ricketts as our new governor.

Unlike his opponent Chuck Hassebrook, Ricketts doesn't have any desire to invest in the wind energy potential in Nebraska or capitalize on the jobs that could be created through this program.  Instead, Ricketts wants to explore the oil located in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve, where an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil are available.  Just one small problem.  IT'S A NATIONAL WILDLIFE RESERVE!  Is it worth it to be able to compete in world oil markets while at the same time causing immense harm to the natural wildlife living there?  No.

Ricketts also is a supporter of using ethanol and bio-diesel fuels.  However, we all know the idea of "clean burning fuel" is a myth.  If something is fuel and it is burning, then there will be green house gas emissions and harmful nitrogen oxide as well.  Finally he opposed prioritizing green energy with the mindset that though there is some evidence for global warming, the the effects are not certain.

We also elected Ben Sasse.

I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet because Ben Sasse is honestly the furthest thing from the type of senator I would ever want in office.  He is a vocal supporter of the Keystone Pipeline and was the only republican candidate to bring it up in debate when trying to win his nomination.  He also is a member of the Tea-Party, a group of republicans that are openly attacking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling it a "job killer."  They are climate change deniers and have destroyed 40 years of progress on clean air and water.

So last night was rough for me, but it all boils down to who shows up to the polls and usually midterm elections don't drawn in the most voters.  It was a rough day for environmentalists everywhere and I'm anxious to see what this means for the next four years.