Arnold Schwarzenegger is as well known for his role in the Terminator trilogy as he is for winning the California Governors race, and not just the first time by beating out Gary Coleman, but the second time as well, when the race was less of a freak show. Last Sunday the star-turned-celebrity put on a different kind of show when MTV converted his 1965 Chevy Impala into a street screaming monster with an 800-horsepower motor that runs on renewable fuel.

Though the vehicle emits 50% less emission than a comparable gasoline motor, the governor has been criticized for “completely missing the point of conservation.” It’s still a gas guzzler, even if the gas is soy bean oil, and the emissions are still higher than they should be.

“We take this cool show and they did something, and added something that was environmentally hip,” said the governor during a public appearance at Georgetown University.

Although the pro-manly-muscle governor has reduced his personal Hummer collection to four, two of which run on alternative fuels, he’s criticized for understanding the problem, but missing the point of the solution. While ethanol may be renewable and propane may be alternative (both available as inexpensive conversion kits for standard gas motors), the real problem is that neither are infinite and conservation holds more promise than new technologies.

Governor Schwarzenegger left for a bathroom break, but assured handlers, “I’ll be back.”

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