ESTABLISHMENTARIANISM:

While many critics are concerned about the future of the EPA under the nominee, Pruitt is not as vocally radical on the subject of climate change denial as some of the other names rumored for the position. Of Mr. Trump's cabinet picks, Pruitt also represents a more established Republican voice coming from outside the president-elect's inner circle, which may signal a more traditional, if still antagonistic, Republican path for the EPA over the next four years.

Pruitt's history -- and the state's notorious issues with earthquakes caused by the disposal of wastewater from the oil and gas industry -- might suggest that Oklahoma would fare particularly poorly on indicators of environmental quality and protection. But the state is solidly middle-of-the-road in many respects, neither the best nor the worst, and even boasts some environmental wins that could come as a surprise.

Take fossil fuels for instance. While coal is Oklahoma's primary source of electricity, its use in the state had been on the decline for a decade before Obama's Clean Power Plan came along. (That means -- regardless of what the lawsuit suggests -- the CPP isn't what's hurting the state's coal power plant business.)

What's more, Oklahoma has been bullish on renewables. The shift away from coal has largely been the result of an increased reliance on wind power, as opposed to natural gas, which has replaced coal in a lot of other states. Despite a lack of state standards or incentives pushing it, Oklahoma's use of non-hydroelectric renewables increased by 16 percentage points between 2004 and 2014, while the use of coal dropped 13 percentage points. Because of this, the state emissions rate for electricity production (which is what the CPP would regulate) has already been going down. Ultimately, the decrease that the CPP dictates for Oklahoma between 2012 and 2024 is smaller than the amount the state's electricity emissions rate fell between 2004 and 2014.

Overall, though, the state's greenhouse gas emissions are up just a bit since 2004. 

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