Schwarzenegger Marks Four Years of AB 32, Touts Clean Tech

It is not easy being Arnold Schwarzenegger these days. His administration is winding down with his approval ratings in the teens. Democrats barely tolerate him, and fair or not, Californians' tie him to the state's problems.

But the Governator is hardly leaving office meekly. He recently toured California, touting the fourth anniversary of AB 32's passing. Schwarzenegger is throwing himself into the fight against Prop 23, and he says he will push for clean technology long after his term as governor expires.

In his most weekly YouTube broadcast, Governor Schwarzenegger touted AB 32's success and vowed he would do everything he could to prevent Proposition 32's passage. His support and advocacy of AB 32 fall on four main points:

California's economy: Schwarzenegger pointed out that California is the leader in clean tech job creation. With 12,000 clean tech companies established in California, jobs in this space have grown 10-fold since 2005. The results? California businesses attract more clean tech funded capital than the rest of the country combined. Solar technology is one beneficiary: last year only 67 megawatts of power were installed around the country—meanwhile, California has created 3000 more kilowatts of solar. Should Proposition 23 pass, such investment and innovation would screech to a halt.

• Health: One in six children go to school with an inhaler; air pollution kills more people in Southern California than automobile accidents. Nationwide, 100,000 die from pollution-related causes.
• Climate change: the governor tied an increase in wildfires, a less reliable water supply, increased inland and coastal flooding, as well as rising sea levels.
• National Security: Schwarzenegger highlighted Ronald Reagan's now 90-year-old Secretary of State, who is also fighting any postponement or modification of AB 32. He slammed our daily US$1 billion purchase of imported oil, saying we are buying from dictators “who hate us!”

With all due respect to Steven Chu, you have to wonder how the Governator would have performed as a Secretary of Energy. He is not a scientist (unless retro sci-fi films count), but he is one polished salesman—whether it was pitching bricklaying, shopping malls, apartment buildings, or restaurants, he has a keen eye for what sells—and when to get out (as he did when bailing out on Planet Hollywood).

(Our Proposition 23 Series is sponsored by EOS Climate. Contact the series' editor if you are interested in providing a viewpoint on the Prop 23 debate.)

You can watch the video here: