Arnold Schwarzenegger has urged the White House to emulate California in taking a lead in the fight against climate change, saying “it would be good for the whole world . . . if the US becomes the power behind the movement”.“America within 10 years could get 20 per cent of its power needs from renewables,” he said. “We have sun, wind – you can even now get oil from algae. There is a green revolution [in California] but the whole US could be leading like that.”
Mr Schwarzenegger, who flies to a UN climate change conference in Copenhagen this week, also called on cities, states and other “sub-national” governments, urging them not to wait for a binding deal before taking action to curb emissions.
“International agreements, as critical as they are, will never do enough,” he said he would tell the conference this week.
“The world’s governments alone cannot make the progress that is needed on global climate change . . . they need the cities, the states, the provinces, the regions. California is the eighth largest economy in the world and also America’s trendsetter, so what we do has consequences.
“And we in California do not believe, and we do not behave, as if progress has to wait for Washington or Beijing or Kyoto.”
Angered by the refusal of the Bush administration to take meaningful action against global warming, the Republican Mr Schwarzenegger became one of the leading advocates for the environmental movement after introducing tough emissions and renewable energy targets in California.
I have numerous differences of opinion with Arnold, but at least the Governor understands that politics is not more important than protecting the planet.
Are you listening sister Sarah?
(H/T tip to Amy Ray. Thanks Amy.)
Update: I missed this little gem in the article:
The California governor has become an environmental standard bearer for the Republican party, which is split on the merits of curbing emissions. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 presidential election, has attacked cap and trade and questioned any link between man-made emissions and global warming.
“You have to ask: what was she trying to accomplish?” said Mr Schwarzenegger. “Is she really interested in this subject or is she interested in her career and in winning the [Republican] nomination [for president]? You have to take all these things with a grain of salt.”
I think Arnold has sister Sarah's number, what do you thnk?
Right on, Governor Schwarzenegger for speaking the truth and for going to Copenhagen.
ReplyDeleteUh oh. The resident Teabagger will be upset that a GOP governor is not going to "boycott Copenhagen." Arnold, although I did not vote for you, I salute you for taking this rational stance. (And believe me, if there's anyone for growing business, it's Arnold.)
ReplyDeleteMy governor is one of that endangered species, a moderate Republican. I certainly differ with him on numerous issues, but he is far better than any Repub governor we've had in California over the years, including the GOP darling (and crappy governor), Reagan.
ReplyDeleteHuh. I thought we were just supposed to rape and pillage the land up there in Uh-lass-kah to show we are energy independant. What's this treason he speaks of using RENEWABLE energy. It's a conspiracy!! We don't need no stinkin' librul sun, wind, or renewable energy green stuff! Algae? Come on people! Why use algae when you can just glug up all da oyl in Uh-lass-kah once and for all?
ReplyDeletePS. Mr. Schwarzen-egger sounds like a commie hippie lefty with his unAmerican stand on energy. Somebody better notify Ms. QuittyPants
;)
Can't wait for the next Twitter rant about Arnold. Do you think she is about done with that yet?
ReplyDeleteWhy spend billions on climate change science? We just need to look around, and see there is global warming. duh! And even if there wasn't the threat of global warming, it behooves us to be responsible on all energy policies, conservation and get on board with alternative energy for the future of the planet and its inhabitants.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with us Gryphen. I too disagree with Gov. Schwarzenegger on many things, but lately, I find him to make several statements that I do agree with. Maybe we can convert him? Or just maybe, he is the voice of the old conservative Republican Party of yore. The party of my grandparents' generation. Governor Schwarzenegger I salute you.
ReplyDeleteYes, Sister Sarah there are those in your party that can actually think rather than just spout conservative rhetoric. I disagree with my governor on many things but I am sure proud of him on this.
ReplyDeleteHate to be cynical but Calif, doesn't have two nickles to rub together & I don't think he has done a good job as governor. Think he's looking for reelection & if it's against Jerry Brown I don't think he has a devils chance in hell. I do beleive the Maria Shriver's influence is a good thing. He's better that he was, but that was such a strange election. Guess who was his Campaign Manager...Steve Schmidt, ironically hand picked by Maria.
ReplyDeleteOT, but for those interested and concerned about Joe Lieberman's crusade against health care reform, check this out:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/12/prweb3331804.htm
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat but I've always had a sneaking like for Schwartzenegger. If I lived in California, I might have even voted for him...
ReplyDeleteI really like his wife. (That's okay to say here, right?)
Please don't fawn over Ahhhnolds remarks. He's hated in California as much as Palin is in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteSchwartzenegger is somewhat unique for Republicans. He has three major things going for him. 1. He's intelligent. 2. He's independently wealthy. and 3. He can't run for President.
ReplyDeleteZane...
ReplyDeleteThe main reason California's finances are in the toilet is due to Proposition 13, which was voted on in 1976, passed, and written into the California constitution in 1978.
It was the beginning of the end of the state's ability to balance its budget.
Wiki: "The proposition's passage resulted in a cap on property tax rates in the state, reducing them by an average of 57%."
This has proven to be a huge boon for over 30 years to industries, corporations and developers, and obviously to a lesser degree, individual property owners (who are now suffering because the real estate bust has devalued their homes), although the assessment formulas disproportionately burden the smaller property owners.
Now, local governments must rely on special levies and assessments and sales taxes -- and (I'm being facetious) bake sales -- to pay for needed local repairs, maintenance, replacement and/or improvement. Schools are perennially underfunded now.
Oh please, nobody is fawning over Arnold's remarks. Those of us who live in California have had to make do with all kinds of crappy governors in the last few decades. Arnold is just not as bad as most of them have been. I'm sick of this idea that if they are on the "other side," then we are never allowed to appreciate when they do something okay, or even semi-okay. Being a governor in Cali, with the state constitution being completely locked up with 2/3 majority crap,and the legislature's hands tied by the same crap, is a hard slog. At least Arnold tends to learn from his mistakes and he's not a complete Ahole like Duke or Pete, or Ronnie.
ReplyDeleteAs for your comment about Arnie being hated in Cali as much as Palin in Alaska, that's wrong on several levels. First, Palin has lots of support in Alaska, just not from people I want to rub elbows with. Second, lots of Californians understand that Arnold has a tough job right now and is at least holding his head above water. And don't put Arnold in the same category as Palin. You may not like him, but he's not a pathological liar or an ambitious bubblehead like whatshername.
Yes, my family lives in CA, and Arnold has a lot to deal with. You are right, he is not on the level of Sarah. I would trust him if he were POTUS. NEVER, "her"!!!!
ReplyDeletekilob:
ReplyDeleteI've always felt that "hate" (a neocon term if ever I've seen one...I NEVER see progressives/liberals use it to describe their feelings) for Arnold Schwarzenegger in California is misplaced, completely off the mark -- for the reason I've described above.
"Fiscal conservatives" want their social services and educational opportunities, but they don't want to pay for it -- they'd rather have OTHER folks pay for it, even to the point where they'd rather have people in other states pay for it (pork).
Am I wrong? That's the way it appears to me...
I'm ashamed to say I know less about my governor, Arnold, and CA politics than I do about what's going on in Alaska.
ReplyDeletezane - Arnold can't run again.
ReplyDeleteHe's an example to Sarah of how a governor can continue to work hard and not act like a lame duck. He also doesn't take a salary and personally pays for his travel.
Let me amend that "hate" comment with regard to progressives/liberals.
ReplyDeleteDestructively anti-government elected government officials like Joe Liebermann and the patently corrupt like Sarah Palin have been the object of progressive/liberal "hate", and for the most part they've earned it.
IMO.
Is that H/T to Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, Gryphen??? :-)
ReplyDeleteArnold is a millionaire, and he flies his own plane between work and home, on his own dime. (oh, and even though he prefers to live at home in another city, he would never expect the capitol of California to come to him) Can you imagine the Quitter Queen, who is fast becoming a millionaire, EVER flying anywhere on her own dime? hahahahahahaaaaaa! Arnold may be far from perfect, but he hasn't made a career out of bilking the rest of the world for his own personal benefit.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the whole Palin thing, but the environment is my primary issue. We need lots of help with the economy; lots for energy independence; lots for health care; lots for women's reproductive rights; lots for gay rights- just to name a few. I don't think any of them are as important as caring for the environment. When you look at civilization as a whole, everything can be fixed except the environment. I swear, the neocons act like we can trash it and then just move someplace else. If the environment goes, civilization goes. If the glaciers in the Himalayas melt, as is predicted within the next 15 years, a billion people will not have enough water. The potential devastation to the human race is mindboggling. Protect the environment: the other stuff we can deal with later, if we have to. No, I don't want gay people to wait for their rights,and I don't want to fight Roe v. Wade all over again- and so forth. But losing those will not be as devastating to the human race as a whole as global climate change. I didn't know if Obama was going to be as strong on climate change as I would like, but I knew for damn sure that McCain/Palin wouldn't lift a finger for it.
ReplyDeleteIvyfree
I agree with Arnold! We should lead the way but as long as we can be assured India China and the rest would follow but I would not count on us. China wants up to up the ante but they must reciprocate.
ReplyDeleteThe people who financed the Gray Davis recall were the uber religious right "The Family" types. Their candidate lost to Arnold.
ReplyDeleteArnold has done some of the same things that Gray Davis was doing, but the "hate" dished out to a moderate, if rather boring, Democrat was far greater than the "hate" dished out to Arnold. We on the left may be snarky, and seriously dislike certain people (like Palin), but the right is the expert on hating.
ReplyDeletethe Arnold's sexual exploits make him a real Republican, though I'm glad he often makes sense and he certainly has relied upon his own money instead of the state.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to pick between him and Palin, I'd pick him in a heartbeat; but he's no advocate of women's rights. At least not on a personal level.
And he was a notorious bigot according to friends of mine who worked with him.
I'm still glad he had the courage and sense to come out in favor of the environment. But he's no saint.
I don't believe anybody here is putting Arnold up for sainthood. There are many stories about his dubious behavior toward women, among other things. But he is way ahead of Sarah in knowing that you don't constantly blur the line between personal and public, home and work, ideology and prejudice, vs what you were hired to do. In other words, he has a lot more right to use that stupid Sarah phrase, "commonsense conservative," than the Quitter Queen does. Just as many liberals are very uncomfortable with abortion but support a woman's right to choose, Arnold has seemed to make a point of not dragging his baggage to work. I can appreciate him on that level, as well as being thankful that he is at least trying to represent his whole state, not just a select few.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, his Japanese Sparkle commercials are really funny.
KaJo.. Would you rather I use the word Disapprove instead of hate? 65% of Californians disapprove how Mr. Schwarzenegger has run California. Those numbers are well below Palin before she left office with and we have 40 times the population.
ReplyDeleteAs a lifelong CA resident of 44 years and a Democrat, I can honestly say Mr. Schwarzenegger has done no more damage here than was inflicted by our previous Governors in office. What is more striking is he waits till the 11th hour to speak out about global climate problems, but has done nothing about it till now in CA. While I'm on my rant, how the heck can someone speak about climate problems and fly around in a personal Gulfstream G4 airplane? To show I'm an equal opportunity finger pointer, Al Gore is also hypocrite for his globetrotting use of personal airplanes for the sake of the "climate".
We as humans on this planet called, Earth, cannot wait for politicians to make decisions and laws. We all have an obligation to be proactive in our daily life to help heal the planet ourselves.
I will have to be a bit simplistic (as to not lay out a very looooong post), but please understand that the meme "CA problems are all because of prop. 13" is just not true.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with our budget is mostly due to this and this alone: LEGISLATIVE SPENDING. The pols spend our $ to get themselves re-elected, it is disgraceful.
I just heard from a friend in Hawaii - she offhandedly mentioned Gov. Arnold just arrived in Kona, on big island of Hawaii. He gave her his biz card and told her he is staying at a private residence. Wonder why he is in Hawaii?
He is NOT with Maria and kids, so I do not think it is a family vacation.
Not trying to start gossip, but does anyone know why our gov. is in Hawaii? I googled, found nothing.
And perhaps even more interesting is why is Palin ALSO there?
ReplyDeleteNO, I studied California government for years, and "legislative spending" is NOT the cause. It IS mostly prop 13, and the direct initiative. Believe what you want. I'm tired of legislators taking the blame for the mess in California. It is the disgraceful mess the initiative process has made of our constitution that is behind most of our problems. There will always be crappy legislators and good statespeople, and the pendulum swings both ways, but it is shortsighted and ingenuous to constantly blame the latest, or last, crop of legislators for the problems. It's like the people who always blame teachers (or teachers and legislators) for the mess our schools are in. Get a grip. A handful of incompetent teachers (or legislators) cannot take our state from number one to practically last. That's no different than saying that less than 30 climate scientists at one institution are the smoking gun for a vast climate conspiracy. BS all the way.
ReplyDeleteoh...it's a big conspiracy in Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteMany of us profitted from Prop. 13. If you stayed put in your house your property taxes remained low. Of course, the lower & middle class did not profit as much as the wealthy who own many multi million dollar homes & are not paying their share, but we probably save about 5 thousand a year in taxes. Another big problem in Calif is the amount of illegal workers paid under the table by wealthy business owners. Everyone is always placing the blame on "liberals" but it is really not the case. They are not provided health care benefits,housing, nor do they pay social security so it is not matched by their employers. They are costing the state big time in crime & hospital care & education & yes it's the wealthy that profit from this system. Lower & middle class people are leaving Calif in droves....no work, expensive housing & little opportunity for a decent future here. I will stand by my comment that I don't think Arnold has been a very good Gov.
ReplyDeleteBTW, as long as some are blaming the legislators for everything, let's talk about term limits. Another stupid idea put forward by lazy people. California's constitution set up the legislature to be a professional body, which is necessary for a state that is the 5th largest economy in the world. People who don't like the idea that the legislators in office are not just their personal slaves, doing their personal ideology instead of WORKING FOR THE FRICKING STATE, want to keep the turnover going, in hopes of producing a crop that leans in their direction and gives the finger to everybody else. They aren't willing to trust that eventually incompetents will get voted out in place of others. No, they want to clear the slate every few years to try to pack the Assembly in their favor. I am SICK of this attitude. It is ruining my state. The same people who voted in term limits are the ones who voted in all the 2/3 majority spending rules (which means a 1/3 minority can block them instead of letting the majority speak). Fed up I am. You have ruined my state. California used to be a proud state. Now it is the home of reactionary right wing aholes and prisons. It is broke and crashing. NOT because we aren't friendly to businesses. NOT because we have lazy librul legislators. NOT because God is punishing Hollywood. Because the voters of California are a bunch of selfish, shortsighted jerks who want everything for nothing. am I mad? You effing betcha!!
ReplyDeleteAs long as I'm BTWing, the concept of Arnold not being a good governor has to be put up against the other governors we've had. He has totally blown it on some things. He is on the other side of the fence with some of the stuff I want. But. Put him up against, say, Pete Wilson (who made Gray Davis look lively), or, even worse, Duke (Puke on Duke). And yes, I'm old enough to remember what Ronnie did to my state, and I'll take Arnold any day. I'm rather fond of Jerry Brown, but he wasn't perfect either (but it was fun having a liberal who was a fiscal conservative with a weird personal life). I met Jerry. Sharp guy. I'm rooting for him in the upcoming election. His dad was a great governor in a time of plenty. He was the last governor who had lots of revenue to play with and made sure it all went to better the state. Were property taxes too high? Yeah, I think they were. Was prop 13 too extreme? Absolutely, especially with the corporate loopholes (don't believe the anti-business hype because they get it all back with prop 13). My personal take? Dump the direct initiative in favor of indirect initiative, remove all 2/3 majority spending amendments from constitution, remove term limits for legislators, spend more on education than prisons, for a start. Stand tall as the environmental state. Reclaim our place as a big, forward-looking state that leads the way.
ReplyDeleteI said, above: "The main reason California's finances are in the toilet is due to Proposition 13, which was voted on in 1976, ..."
ReplyDeleteahhhhhhnold countered with, "...please understand that the meme "CA problems are all because of prop. 13" is just not true."
and then, ahhhhhhnold, you go on to say "The problem with our budget is mostly due to this and this alone: LEGISLATIVE SPENDING.
Just for curiosity's sake, which is it? Mostly? Or this alone?
And kudos to you, womanwithsardinecan, for telling the story of California's economic downfall so much better than I did.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the fact that the beaches in SoCal have become ghost beaches, toxic to the touch -- on Arnold's watch -- means nothing. Or the lack of decent public transportation. The fact that the state plundered county coffers, including those meant for eco-violation investigation. In other words, talk is cheap, and Arnold NEVER picked up a check -- it was a personal thing for him. His wallet never saw light. So its nice, as California falls into the sea, that Arnold has a good word to say for global warming. Because he certainly did his best, personally, to help it along.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be a cynic on this one and say that Arnold is simply looking to expand business interests in providing basic services to the people of CA; the 'deregulation' line about competition lowering prices hasn't worked.
ReplyDeletewoman you have stated it very well. To get moving forward CA needs to get rid of term limits, reform Prop 13 and get rid of the 2/3rd vote. Then we need to get our priorities straight like more for education and less for prisons. Get rid of 3 strike law--it's not working as hoped.
ReplyDeleteThe environment is the only area that Arnie and I agree upon. He gets it because he sees the huge business potential. He also believes the science.
Somewhere up above someone stated that CA beaches are a mess. Some are, the ones in Orange County and San Diego (red counties for decades) have not taken care of this resource. LA used to be really bad and Santa Monica Bay was dead in the 70'ies and 80'ies. Well, change started happening in the late 80'ies and now most LA beaches are pretty good. Even the sand crabs came back.
Here is what Sarah Palin would leave the people of Alaska:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091214173652.htm
Kajo I totally agree with you! Prop 13 brought us into this and also the fact we don't get the federal funding that say Alaska does!
ReplyDeleteKilb-you are wrong to say Arnold has "just" been working on Green! He has been the whole time. That is one of the reason's Bush choose not to give us $$ b/c Arnold did not toe the party line, of "there is no global warning"
I like Arnold and he was much better gov. than say REAGAN!!!!!