Let's terminate global warming, says Arnie. With a little help from his friends, like Tony Blair???

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into law America's first global warming legislation that imposes a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.

Arnie says we have to "slow down global warming before it's too late." He calls it one of the most important issues of modern times.

''We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late,'' he said during an address before signing the bill.

It seems British Prime Minister Tony Blair had a hand in this. Blair apparently struck a deal with Schwarzenegger over the summer to develop clean technologies and he joined the California ceremony via video link.

Blair called the bill-signing ''a proud day for political leadership'' and "a historic day for the rest of the world, as well.''

The British PM apparently wants to create a 'coalition of the willing' among those U.S. states prepared to join the European Union's carbon trading scheme. The Blair-Schwarzenegger deal came at a meeting in Long Beach earlier this year organized by Steve Howard, CEO of the Climate Group, an international charity working to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and Lord Browne, chairman of British Petroleum. Virgin's Sir Richard Branson was also present.

The two-year-old EU carbon trading scheme sets country-by-country overall caps for carbon, and rewards individual companies which find a profitable way to minimize carbon emissions.

All Tony needs to do now is get to work on George W!!

Click here for more news on California new 'green law'.
Click here for the report from the BBC.
Click here for the report on the Environment News Service. ("We Cover the Earth for You.")

- David Adams