Arnold Schwarzenegger: Technology, not policy, will save the world

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger just left the stage of the Oracle Open World conference in San Francisco, where he gave a short speech extolling the importance of technology. He concluded that tech will be more important for solving the world’s problems (particularly global warming) than any government decision.

Technology has been crucial at all three stages of his career, Schwarzenegger said — nutritional supplements when he was a bodybuilder, special effects when he was a movie actor, and now of course technology is crucial for California’s economy, environment, and more.

“I love technology,” Schwarzenegger said. He tossed out different types of technology, like biotech, cleantech, “all of the techs.”

The speech included a quick overview of California’s tech industries, but it lingered on cleantech. Schwarzenegger pointed out that the Long Beach Port has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent without reducing the number of ships, trucks, or tugboats. He also pointed to electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, whose technology is putting California closer to the automotive cutting edge than Detroit. And he spoke glowingly about how Smart Grid technology will improve the state’s energy infrastructure.

All of these developments will be more important to preventing environmental catastrophe than any law or treaty, Schwarzenegger added. Global leaders are working on a new version of the Kyoto Protocol to limit carbon emissions around the world, and while Schwarzenegger said, “We wish them well,” he also argued that we won’t see the reductions we need until there’s technology to make it happen without any negative economic impacts.

“Technology will save us all,” he said.

[image from the Warner Bros' film Terminator 3]

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