SPONSIBLE AWARDS VII

2007 Sponsible Award - Political Leader

Winner: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Lately the man with the reputation as being the greenest of the United States' 50 governors has come under attack. Despite having proposed such initiatives as a $95 million state grant to support green research, an aggressive green house gas reduction plan and an impassioned address before the U.N. this past September in which he warned of the dangers of global warming, his critics still wail.

Pointing to his fuel-hungry NetJets and fleet of Hummers (which he recently had converted to run on hydrogen fuel cells), they shout that he doesn't practice what he preaches. Here's our take: Governor Schwarzenegger has the energy of three governors and travels accordingly. He also manages to get a proportional amount of work done. We at sponsible realize that saving the planet doesn't have to equate extremism nor should it. Being sponsible means making sound choices for the greater good. If the use of a private jet allows Governor Schwarzenegger time to better carry out his vast agenda then the potential excess of greenhouse gases could well be offset by the legislation he negotiates at his destinations.

More important, we feel, is the fact that Governor Schwarzenegger is essentially the first American political leader to take Al Gore's message and turn it into a major platform. He has boldly stepped up to the plate and taken a swing at the former President-Elect's (elected by the people, that is) pitch. Others have since stepped into the batter's box, and all should be commended.

Those same critics may argue that the California Governor is posturing as an environmentalist for political gain. remember, however, how very new the green phenomenon is, on both our cultural and political landscapes. Just two years ago it was barely on the radar – not very sexy at all. Now it's headline news every day of the week. Governor Schwarzenegger jumped on the bandwagon being pulled by Gore, David Suzuki and others in a very public way, putting his reputation and standing within his party on the line, before green was the "It" color.

Even if we were to play cynic and agree that the Governor is promoting green initiatives for purely political purposes, the fact is, with the exception of Gore, no one has had a more profound impact on the American public's perception of the burgeoning green movement. For that alone Governor Schwarzenegger deserves this award.