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7 Of The Top 17 Fastest Growing Cleantech States Are Swing States

Wednesday, September 12, 2012 12:11

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First published on ClimateProgress.org, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, which was recently named one of Time magazine’s Top 25 blogs of 2010.

Here’s more evidence that green jobs may play a role in national elections. According to analysis from DBL Investors, seven of the top 17 fastest growing states for cleantech jobs are swing states. In addition, five of those top states lean Republican.

Using earlier data from the Brookings Institution showing 2.7 million jobs in America’s “clean economy,” DBL matched up growth rates with the political leanings of various states. The report found that Republican states lead in the top ten states with the largest percentage of green jobs. It also found that the top three states have more green jobs than the entire U.S. coal mining sector.

“The on-the-ground reality of the economic importance of clean tech should serve as a reminder to journalists, pundits, policymakers and even politicians campaigning for office,” write the report authors Nancy Pfund and Michael Lazar. “Politicians who play political football with clean tech increasingly do so at their own risk, while those that promote green job growth score big points with voters and workers alike.”

Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney has called green jobs “imaginary” and labeled investments in clean energy “boondoggles.”