Schwarzenegger: ‘I Don’t Give a **** if We Agree About Climate Change’

Arnold Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen Highway (Ann Johannson / Associated Press)
Arnold Schwarzenegger's Hydrogen Highway (Ann Johannson / Associated Press)
Daniel Nussbaum

Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he “hears” the concerns of those who question the “science of climate change”–but he still “doesn’t give a ***” if you agree with him.

In a post to Facebook Monday, Schwarzenegger, who is currently in Paris attending the Cop21 international climate change conference, said that he receives regular correspondence from individuals who doubt the veracity of scientists’ global warming claims.

“I want you to know that I hear you,” the former governor and actor writes. “Even those of you who say renewable energy is a conspiracy. Even those who say climate change is a hoax. Even those of you who use four letter words.”

Schwarzenegger adds that he has three questions of his own:

“First – 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. Every day, 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?

Now, my second question: do you believe coal and oil will be the fuels of the future?

Besides the fact that fossil fuels destroy our lungs, everyone agrees that eventually they will run out. What’s your plan then?

Schwarzenegger writes that he wants “a plan” of action, but didn’t immediately offer one in his column. At the climate change conference in Paris, Schwarzenegger told the Sacramento Bee that he has taken steps to reduce his own carbon footprint, including ensuring that the swimming pools and jacuzzi at his home are powered by solar energy and replacing his Hummer truck’s diesel engine with a more environmentally friendly biofuel engine.

Schwarzenegger also sat down with current California Gov. Jerry Brown in a Paris conference room on Sunday, where the two discussed ways that Republicans and Democrats could work together to battle climate change.

“I have a final question, and it will take some imagination,” Schwarzenegger concludes his Facebook column.

 “There are two doors. Behind Door Number One is a completely sealed room, with a regular, gasoline-fueled 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.
I’m guessing you chose the Door Number Two, with the electric car, right? Door number one is a fatal choice – who would ever want to breathe those fumes?
This is the choice the world is making right now.
“To use one of the four-letter words all of you commenters love, I don’t give a damn if you believe in climate change.” Schwarzenegger signs off. “I couldn’t care less if you’re concerned about temperatures rising or melting glaciers. It doesn’t matter to me which of us is right about the science.”
During his tenure as governor, the Republican Schwarzenegger made battling climate change a key focus of his administration. Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 into law in September of that year, however critics say the law’s botched implementation has burdened the state with the nation’s highest gas taxes.

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