Blowin' in the hot air

Tony Blair's and Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to work together on reducing GHGs and promoting low carbon technologies deserves a big cheer.

The decision of British PM Tony Blair and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to work together on reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and promoting low carbon technologies deserves a big cheer. Never mind that niggling poser: is it just a lot of hot air, or really a significant blow against global warming caused by GHG emissions trap excess heat that would otherwise radiate into space? For Britain, the compact with California means sidestepping the Bush administration’s avowed opposition to the Kyoto agreement on global warming from which it withdrew in 2001, saying it would rather have a voluntary system to reduce GHGs.

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But if this is a dilemma for Mr Blair, it’s even more so for Mr Schwarzenegger, who’s apparently very close to terminating the constitutional limits on his gubernatorial powers themselves. By prompting Californians to cut CO2 and other GHGs, he is, in effect, calling President Bush’s bluff that such cuts would harm the US economy. Even then, Mr Schwarzenegger’s environmental activism, which ignores Republican sentiments in an election year, probably will not push up many Californian eyebrows, given the state’s dubious credentials as the 12th largest source of GHGs in the world — a figure that’s bigger than most countries. Experts believe that unless these GHG emissions are cut to 2,000 levels by 2010, the state is clearly in for big trouble before long. Climate scientists predict increased wildfires, public health problems and rising sea levels.

So, it’s easy to see why Mr Schwarzenegger is probably a shoo-in for another term at the state’s helm. That is, if he can’t manage a constitutional amendment to allow him to run for president.