to combat global warming, have any states taken local measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
— David, Monterey, CA Though the Bush administration has been slow to even admit that global warming is a serious issue, and has rejected the terms of the Kyoto Protocol (an international agreement calling on developed nations to curb greenhouse gas emissions), more than 30 U.S. states have passed legislation and/or formed regional coalitions on their own to promote energy efficiency and reduce the emissions that cause global warming. The leading state in the battle against climate change is California, which as early as 2002 began calling on carmakers to reduce the greenhouse gases generated by new vehicles sold there. In 2003, California joined neighbors Oregon and Washington in laying out a set of recommendations for how states could combat global warming by setting emissions reduction targets for state vehicle fleets and enacting energy efficiency standards for a wide range of other products. By the end of 2004, the west coast triumvirate had jointly adopted the goal of reducing g
