BY: JONATHAN MOSS
“I don’t give a **** if we agree about climate change,” writes Arnold Schwarzenegger. He hears your indignant grumbles about his drive for a clean renewable future, but believe me, your assertion that climate change is just a big hoax doesn’t bother him; it just makes you look delusional.
Attending the climate conference in Paris, the former governor turned to Facebook to write a passionate letter raising three important questions:
1. “Do you believe it is acceptable that 7 million people die every year from pollution?”
“That’s more than murders, suicides, and car accidents – combined. Everyday, 19,000 people die from pollution from fossil fuels. Do you accept those deaths? Do you accept that children all over the world have to grow up breathing with inhalers?”
2. “Do you believe coal and oil will be the fuels of the future?”
“I don’t want to be like the last horse and buggy salesman who was holding out as cars took over the roads. I don’t want to be the last investor in Blockbuster as Netflix emerged. That’s exactly what is going to happen to fossil fuels… Renewable energy is great for the economy, and you don’t have to take my word for it…. In fact, our economy in California is growing faster than the U.S. economy. We lead the nation in manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, entertainment, high tech, biotech, and, of course, green tech.”
3. For his final question, Schwarzenegger posed a scenario that will put everything into perspective:
“There are two doors. Behind Door Number One is a completely sealed room, with a regular, gasoline-fuelled car. Behind Door Number Two is an identical, completely sealed room, with an electric car. Both engines are running full blast.
I want you to pick a door to open, and enter the room and shut the door behind you. You have to stay in the room you choose for one hour. You cannot turn off the engine. You do not get a gas mask.”
No matter how much you despise flower-toting hippies, Tesla-driving creatives, or morally righteous vegans – even if you mistakenly view the environment as non-synonymous with economy- you have to admit that Schwarzenegger makes a bullet proof point: “Door number one is a fatal choice – who would ever want to breathe those fumes?” A healthy environment is a public good, and regardless if you believe in melting glaciers or rising carbon emissions, unlike The Terminator, climate change is not a science fiction movie.
Image source: popsci.com
