Sweating the hothouse.

• Author: Larsen, Janet
• Position: Air pollution control

RECOGNIZING THAT GLOBAL WARMING fast may be approaching the point of no return and that the world cannot wait for our Federal government to act, hundreds of American city mayors have pledged to cut emissions of greenhouse gases. By signing the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, these elected officials--representing some 44,000,000 Americans--have committed their cities to meet or beat the U.S. emissions reduction target in the Kyoto Protocol, despite Washington's refusal to ratify that treaty.

This grassroots political revolution, spearheaded by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to seven percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Since Feb. 16, 2005, the date the Kyoto Protocol came into effect for the 141 countries that ratified it, almost 250 cities have joined the mayors' agreement, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, the nation's three largest metropolises. The Northeast, Great Lakes Region, and West Coast are particularly well represented, and the list keeps growing. The group includes communities with an eye on global problems as well as those concerned about climate-related impacts closer to home. For example, a dozen Florida coastal cities that are at risk from storms and rising seas have signed on. Ray Nagin noted a similar concern when adding New Orleans to the agreement, stating that "The rise of the Earth's temperature, causing sea level increases that could add up to one foot over the next 30 years, threatens the very existence of New Orleans"--and this was before Hurricane Katrina.

The cities' action plans vary in both content and completeness, but the common refrains include increasing automobile efficiency, improving public transportation systems, curbing urban sprawl, and encouraging walking and cycling. The plans emphasize using and generating electricity more efficiently, with renewable energy sources playing a prominent role. Seattle's pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions translates into an annual cut of 683,000 tons, the equivalent of retiring some 148,000 cars each year. In March 2006, the Mayor's Green Ribbon Commission made numerous recommendations on how to achieve this goal. The local role model is the municipal government, which already has slashed carbon emissions from city operations to more than 60% below 1990 levels. This was achieved in part by switching a share of the government fleet to hybrid-electric vehicles. By cutting fleet fuel use by seven percent...