Arnold Schwarzenegger’s commuting habits have landed the California governor and erstwhile Hollywood star in some hot water recently. It seems that some in the environmentalist community take issue with Schwarzenegger’s habit of flying back and forth daily via private jet between his home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles to the capitol in Sacramento.

The flights in Schwarzenegger’s Gulfstream IV, which he bought in 1997 for a cool $38 million, leave a sizeable carbon footprint, large enough to ruffle the feathers of critics who allege that the governor’s extravagant commute undercuts his laudable reputation as an environmental reformer. Schwarzenegger has defended the flights on the grounds that they allow him to spend time with his family—he has children in their teens— while still attending to his duties as governor.

This may be true enough, although it seems no less likely that his decision to return each day to Los Angeles rather than taking up residence in Sacramento might have something to do with the mega-star’s reluctance to set up house in a city whose social scene revolves around mini-malls and TGI Friday’s.

Schwarzenegger has attempted to mitigate the effect of his plane’s emissions through the purchase of carbon offsets. Some have contended that carbon offsets, which putatively compensate for carbon dioxide emissions by channeling money into tree planting projects or green technologies like windmills and methane recapturing projects, are the papal indulgences of the 21st century; that they do more in the way of cleansing one’s conscience than in redressing any harms. Nevertheless, to his credit, Schwarzenegger, who dutifully offsets his flights like so many environmentally concerned frequent flyers who find themselves in the public eye, isn’t ignoring the issue entirely.

Even more than the impact that may be wrought on the environment by Schwarzenegger’s private flights, what fascinates us here at Halogen Guides Jets is what the impact must be on his pocketbook. In 2007, Schwarzenegger spent $591,000 in campaign funds on travel expenses. Given the frequency of the governor’s travel, he’s actually one of the few private flyers for whome whole ownership is the most economical option. After all, Schwarzenegger’s flying isn’t limited to just his commute. His duties as governor take him to locations across the state, and as a rising star in the Republican Party, Schwarzenegger frequently travels outside of California to lend his celebrity to the aiding GOP candidates across the country, not to mention international trips.

But even if we just count his commute between L.A. and Sacramento—a one hour flight in each direction—and conservatively estimate that he makes the round trip four days a week, 49 weeks out of the year, we find that Schwarzenegger is logging over 390 hours of flight time. To match that number, Schwarzenegger would need sixteen 25-hour Marquis Jet fractional cards, $349,900 a pop for use of a G-450 (a small upgrade on the governor’s G-IV), costing a total of $5.6 million a year. Even if Arnold were to purchase a ½ fraction of a jet, which grants its owner 400 hours of flight time, the near daily frequency of his flights would likely make this less than an attractive option.