The Green Governor?

No matter what you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger, he is starting to show some real leadership on global warming and on the environment.

I was very pleased to watch his recent speech on the environment. It is well worth the time to listen to his remarks. I have to say I was inspired. And that is saying something as it has been a very long time since I’ve been inspired by politician’s speech.

I have also attached a link to the transcript of his speech, if you prefer.

Arnold has a vision for the future and made three main points in his speech.

1) His vision - “successful movements are built on passion; they're not built on guilt.” He wants to ensure that the “environmental movement is no longer seen as a nag or as a scold, but as a positive force in people's lives. We have to make it sexy. We have to make it attractive so that everyone wants to participate.”

2) “In an environmental economy, the great thing is that we can do both. We can protect the environment and protect the economy.”

“California is the leading edge of what I call the "environmental economy. The aerospace industry built the modern economy of Southern California. The computer industry and the Internet built the economy of Silicon Valley. And now the green, clean technology, along with biotech, will be the next wave of California's economy.”

3) Environmentalism has become mainstream.
“Mainstream scientists are convinced, mainstream CEOs are convinced, and if you look at the surveys, mainstream Americans are convinced that global warming and climate change is real and we have to do something about it.
So who are the fanatics now? They are the ones who are in denial. They are in environmental denial, they are in economic denial, and they are in political denial.”

He delivered this message to his fellow Republican politicians.

“If you are against taking action on greenhouse gases and common emissions, your political base will melt away as surely as the polar ice caps. You will become a political penguin {stranded} on a smaller and smaller ice floe that is drifting out to sea. Goodbye, my little friend.”