Arnold Schwarzenegger slams excuse-driven mindset stalling real progress: 'It makes no difference who is there'

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has some harsh words for environmentalists: Stop using "stupid" language and stop letting President Donald Trump be an excuse for inaction. 

In an interview with USC's Willow Bay at the Planet Media Summit, Schwarzenegger — who fought planet-warming pollution when he was governor and continues to be actively involved  through the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative — offered advice to young people about how to make progress. 

Rule No. 1: "Climate" needs better marketing 

"We see the effect of climate change more and more now, with the fires, the storms, and the weather around the world," Schwarzenegger said. And yet, climate change was not among the top issues in the last election. 

That, he believes, is largely because of marketing. Just as important as creating a good movie, he said, is marketing it well, or else no one cares enough to take action. 

"'Climate change' is really a stupid name," he argued. "The environmentalists — they mean really well, and they're working really hard — but they sometimes talk to each other, and they love to use things like 'climate.' This is stupid. Why not say, 'let me talk about our pollution'?" 

Schwarzenegger explained that when he was governor, he became frustrated that his climate priorities weren't getting enough traction. So he and his team tried a different approach after watching a dramatic American Lung Association video showing how kids were getting asthma because of pollution. 

When the team started talking about fighting pollution — instead of climate change — their "numbers flipped." 

"We have to find ways to communicate better about pollution and the danger of pollution rather than calling it those fancy names like 'climate change' and 'carbon neutrality' and 'going green,'" he said. 

Rule No. 2: Stop using Trump as an excuse 

Schwarzenegger said that even though President Trump's administration has rolled back regulations on pollution and cut funding for critical climate programs, we shouldn't let that stop progress. 

"Don't ever use Trump as an easy excuse out, because it makes no difference who is there," he argued. "Seventy percent of the action when it comes to climate is on the local level."

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For example, Schwarzenegger said that even though former President George W. Bush wasn't "excited about climate change" and tried to derail some of his initiatives when Schwarzenegger was California governor, that didn't stop him from winning a verdict from the Supreme Court that California could regulate its own air. 

"Never stop because there's one person there that maybe doesn't think like we do," he said. 

"No one is going to stop California from putting solar panels on every warehouse in California. We can do all of those things right now, so never use the excuse of Trump. Every individual has the power. That's what we have to concentrate on, nothing should ever stop us."

Rule No. 3: Ditch the doom and gloom 

Schwarzenegger criticized environmentalists' common focus on doom and gloom messaging — and he said the antidote is individual action.

"We have a tendency of always telling young people the world they're inheriting is terrible," Schwarzenegger said. "Eventually, the brain gets numb … and people throw in the towel. … It's so important for people to be hopeful. There is a way forward. Each and every one of us can do something."

For example: Try buying local — or, even better, thrifting local — instead of ordering something that has to be shipped across the country, which contributes to significant shipping pollution.  

Schwarzenegger also suggested targeting energy vampires and other unnecessary electricity usage: "You can do things at home — like smart metering — so that things turn off automatically when you leave the house." 

"In California we didn't build that much more electricity in the last 30-40 years, but we came down with the consumption of electricity," he said. 

"You have the power to purchase the things that are energy-efficient. Each and every one of us has a certain amount of power to get things done."

It's what he calls "people power" that's the secret to the success of every major movement, including anti-apartheid, civil rights, and the right to vote. 

"Those were 'people movements,'" he argued. "They were successful because people worked together. They didn't wait for the government; the people created the change." 

Rule No. 4: Stop complaining and change your attitude 

Schwarzenegger's conversation was part of the Planet Media Summit, produced by This Is Planet Ed, an initiative of the Aspen Institute aiming to unlock the power of education as a force for climate action and solutions. So what's his best advice for Gen Z and Gen Alpha?

"You have the power to create change," he said. "Don't just complain about all of this stuff, because there's a lot to complain about if you look around. But there's also a lot of good stories. People doing remarkable stuff. Be focused on that. Copy that." 

There's no need to reinvent the wheel, he said, because there are so many people who have already come up with great solutions and ideas — "you just have to search for it."

"I always called the legislators 'bird brains,'" he said of his time as governor. "It was insulting, obviously, and maybe I shouldn't have called them that … but that was just my personality. I called them that because they were not worldly."

To that end, Schwarzenegger has encouraged his staff — and today's youth — to study examples of progress around the world and copy what's effective. 

"I didn't invent the curl. I copied the curl, the bench press, the squat, the deadlift, and then I refined it," he said. "There's great stuff all over the world and answers all over the world."

Rule No. 5: Be prepared and use the 7 P's

When it comes to resilience, Schwarzenegger says it's about an attitude shift from excuses to preparation. 

"There's the seven P's: 'Proper prior planning prevents piss-poor performance.' If you use [that] at all times … what happens? You're prepared," he said, referring to an adage from the U.S. Marines. 

And that wasn't the case during the California fires, he said. "It was people who failed, not climate change. Yeah, climate change creates more fire — now it's all year round — but we knew that, and they were not prepared." 

For example, not having enough firefighters on duty or adequate amounts of water ready. 

"The fire season is now all year round. What does that mean? It means, don't be so stupid and lay off your firefighters three months out of the year," he said. "Now when the fire comes in November, they don't have enough firefighters and not enough of the fire trucks can be used. This is what the problem was in the last fire."

So what motivates Schwarzenegger to continue to act on climate? For him, it's simple: "Terminate pollution. Anything can be done — anything."

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