UPDATE: Sarah Palin responded to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on her Facebook page Tuesday night, saying she did plenty about climate change while he screwed up his state.
Why is Governor Schwarzenegger pushing for the same sorts of policies in Copenhagen that have helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment? Perhaps he will recall that I live in our nation's only Arctic state and that I was among the first governors to create a sub-cabinet to deal specifically with climate change. While I and all Alaskans witness the impacts of changes in weather patterns firsthand, I have repeatedly said that we can't primarily blame man's activities for those changes. And while I did look for practical responses to those changes, what I didn't do was hamstring Alaska's job creators with burdensome regulations so that I could act "greener than thou" when talking to reporters.
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California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says world policymakers do not have to choose between a clean environment and economic growth.
Schwarzengger said "we've proved that over and over again in California." Interviewed by ABC's "Good Morning America" from the Copenhagen conference, he said he thinks world leaders may be risking setback by pushing so aggressively for an accommodation on curbs to heat-trapping emissions.
Schwarzenegger said that people worried about climate change should pay more attention to companies, universities and "ordinary folks" and not put so much emphasis on a multinational consensus. He said that type of thinking is "setting yourself up for failure." He also said poor nations have a right to demand that the richer countries help them to meet tougher pollution standards.
He also took a swipe at former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in an interview with the Financial Times:
Mr Schwarzenegger said: "You have to ask: what was she trying to accomplish? Is she really interested in this subject or is she interested in her career and in winning the nomination [for president]?"