Photo: State of California/ protectingourenvironment.com

Although hes appeared on film in scandalously skimpy attire more often than most bombshell babes, the Governator is apparently no girly-man when it comes to cracking down on polluters. Impatient with federal policies on global warming and greenhouse-gas emissions, Ahnold took his own stance earlier this week by signing a partnership with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to explore cleaner-burning fuels and cut back on industrial carbon dioxide output.

President Bush has declined to implement aggressive policies regulating industrial emissions, preferring to leave the regulation up to individual companies. And although officials at the state and national level insist that Schwarzeneggers move did not sidestep the White House, the California EPA stated that they had not been asked to review the agreement before its signing.

California will not wait for our federal government to take strong action on global warming, Schwarzenegger said, calling it the single most important issue" faced by the world community.

The state was the 12th-largest source of greenhouse gases in the world last year, producing more than some whole countries, so efforts to curb emissions in the Golden State could put a serious dent in pollution worldwide. —Nicole Price Fasig

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