Fighting Global Warming on the Fly

Less than a year ago, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was being lauded as the cover boy for NewsWeek's issue about how to battle global warming. But critics are calling attention to the governator's daily commute -- Sacramento to Los Angeles and back -- by airplane. "The governor's Gulfstream jet does nearly as much damage to the environment in one hour as a small car does in a year, according to figures compiled by the Helium Report, an online publication for buyers of luxury items." Schwarzenegger counters that he purchases carbon offsets to compensate, but as CMD previously reported, there is growing concern that those quick and easy fixes may be nothing more than feel-good greenwashing. Denis Hayes, president of the Bullitt Foundation, which funds environmental projects in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. said that "He has been very bold on all these [environmental] initiatives, so it is sad to see him undercut that. If you are going to be talking about an issue, you should be living the reality you are trying to embrace."