Schwarzenegger and Barroso congratulate themselves in Vienna

Arnold Schwarzenegger saves the world :
"I still drive my Hummers but now they are all on hydrogen and biofuel ..."

Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken his climate change/global warming road show to his former home country. On Thursday he opened the Regions of Climate Action (R-20) conference in Vienna: 

Arnold Schwarzenegger called Thursday for an end to "doom and gloom" environmentalism as he hosted the first conference of his new green movement fostering action by local governments and individuals.

"If we want to inspire the world, it is time for us to forget about the old way of talking about climate change, where we crush people, where we overwhelm people with data," the former California governor, bodybuilder and film star said.

"I mean I still drive my Hummers but now they are all on hydrogen and biofuel ... We need to send a message that we can live the same life, just with cleaner technology." Following his success implementing environmental legislation in California ahead of federal US action, Schwarzenegger's created the R20 Regions of Climate Action movement in 2010.

Reality check: 

California, once the most attractive business environment in the nation, is today caught in a downward economic spiral while Texas is on the upswing.

Between 1960 and 1990, more than four million people moved to California, attracted by the state’s beauty, weather and booming economy. However, a 2012 study by the Manhattan Institute found, that since 1990, California has lost most of that gain as millions moved out of the state.

Many of those who left were business owners driven out by California’s high income taxes, oppressive regulations, high energy costs, property taxes and labor costs. As employers relocated to Texas, Nevada and Arizona, workers followed, taking their money with them -- a total of $18.55 billion in lost wages from 2000-2010.

Once a magnet for job creators, California’s unemployment rate has been higher than the national average for the last 22 years.

In 2012, 650 business leaders surveyed by Chief Executive Magazine rated California the worst state in the nation for business -- for the eighth consecutive year. That same survey rated Texas #1 for the eighth year in a row.

The "keynote" speaker, European Commission president José Manuel Barroso was full of praise for the "succesful" European Union working method: 

"Regions20 is a shining example of this new mind-set in business and in government at the regional level, because it draws on so many stakeholders and their expertise. In many respects the work of R20 is similar to that of the European Union, as it connects different actors on all levels to cooperate on common challenges - to be stronger together.

Within the European Union this has been our successful working method of more than half a century"

Reality check:

Unemployment in the euro zone hit a record high of 11.8 percent in November, according to a new Eurostat report. In Spain, Greece, and Portugal, joblessness has never been higher during this crisis.

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Unemployment for workers under 25 is now closer to 60 percent than 50 percent in Spain and Greece, and youth joblessness is rising in France, Italy, and Portugal.

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Optimistically, Europe will grow about 0.0% this year. The last time Spanish growth was this weak was during the Spanish Civil War. Greece's GDP decline is the worst of any peaceful, non-communist post-WWII economy.

(image by wikipedia)