One of the most distressing developments of this most distressing political season is the almost complete abandonment of interest in the environment by the Republican party. Opposition to action on climate change – particularly, the once-obscure market mechanism called cap-and-trade – has become one of the principle tenets of the Tea Party movement.

Only one GOP candidate for the Senate, Mark Kirk of Illinois, has dared to voice any support for acting on climate change, and he has since repented for his vote for the Waxman-Markey climate bill. Mike Castle of Delaware was another Republican who voted for Waxman-Markey, and he was beaten by the now-famous Christine O'Donnell in the Republican primary. O'Donnell now trails Chris Coons by 21% in recent polling, though she is strongly ahead among Tea Party supporters.



O'Donnell's views on the environment, which are almost as wacky as her views on mice with human brains, fit neatly within the new normal for the Republican party. She has railed against cap-and-trade, calling it a new energy tax, and instead, calls for more drilling, though she does oppose oil rigs off of Delaware's beaches. Two years ago, O'Donnell offered the startling assertion that "only 1% of the oil pollution in the sea is the result of oil drilling, while 63% is the result of natural seepage on the ocean floor."



Here in Delaware, the Sierra Club (which I serve as chapter vice chair) has endorsed Chris Coons over Christine O'Donnell, the latter not even bothering to fill out and return a questionnaire sent to her. One Republican candidate in the Delaware Senate race did fill out a Sierra Club questionnaire: Mike Castle, whose vote for Waxman-Markey has been cited by his detractors as a reason for dumping him for the endlessly embarrassing O'Donnell.



The Republican party has shifted sharply away from its green roots. Theodore Roosevelt, elected as a Republican, created our first national parks, much to the chagrin of entrenched business interests. Here in Delaware, Republican Governor Russell Peterson passed the Coastal Zone Act in 1972, protecting our coastline from heavy industry. Peterson worked as an environmental advisor to Richard Nixon, served as president of the National Audubon Society, and finally switched to the Democratic party in 1996.



The Tea Party may look like a grassroots movement, and the antipathy to environmental protection fits well with its libertarian philosophy (if "hell no" can be considered a philosophy), but the corporations behind the movement – including BP – are funnelling big bucks to support the GOP's most outspoken climate sceptics.



Ironically, the much reviled cap-and-trade system was first implemented under the first President Bush in a successful effort to rein in sulphur dioxide emissions. Because it was designed as a market-based approach, it brought emissions under control for far less money than originally projected.



The GOP's sharp right turn on environmental matters will reverberate well past this year's election. Barack Obama couldn't get climate change bill through Congress even with Democratic majorities, in part because of Democratic senators from coal states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia. But Republicans like Lindsey Graham and John McCain, formerly with a positive record on cap-and-trade, will now think long and hard before they even consider supporting a climate bill. Environmental advocates are looking for gridlock on climate change for the next two years.

