Gov. Stitt of Oklahoma Receives Top Environmental Award

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt received the Environmentalist of the Year award from the Institute of Environmental Excellence (IEE) for cutting Oklahoma’s greenhouse gas emissions by over one third in the years 2019 through 2022.

“I never thought of myself as an environmentalist,” said a surprised and upbeat Governor Stitt as he met with local reporters after receiving the award. “During the height of the pandemic, we simply told people they were not required to mask or get vaccinated under the guise of protecting their personal freedoms. We really didn’t think much about the environmental upside as Covid deaths piled up.”

According to Teresa Green, IEE spokesperson, it was simple to calculate the decrease in Oklahoma’s CO2 emissions given that each resident in Oklahoma is responsible for an average of twenty three tons of CO2 emissions annually.

Green continued, “The seventeen thousand Covid deaths in the state translated into an incredible 390,000 ton reduction in annual CO2 emissions. You really can’t underestimate the importance of those numbers.” Green added, “While we clearly do not agree with his methods, the results speak for themselves. Stitt made Oklahoma a national leader in greenhouse gas reduction. Current Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and prior Louisiana governor Buddy Caldwell were runners-up in the competition, but they just couldn’t beat Stitt’s per capita Covid death totals.”

Privately his staff expressed concern about the unanticipated consequences of his Covid policy as the majority of Oklahomans that died from Covid for refusing to mask-up or get vaccinated were Republicans. The loss of so many Republican voters inadvertently placed Oklahoma into play as a toss-up state for the 2024 state and national elections.  When pressed on this subject, Governor Stitt demurred, telling reporters that such speculation was typical of the main stream media. He then turned away and headed to his limousine.