Actions such as instalingl control equipment that collects emissions before they leave smokestacks as pollution, have been mandated at the state level.

But for now the world is still left with no binding international agreement on how to deal with climate change. Nations are left to make their own decisions on what to do. And environmental activists aren't pleased with the choices the United States has made on a federal level. The Bush administration focuses on voluntary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Their plan calls for an 18% cut in 'greenhouse gas intensity' by 2012; this intensity number is the ratio of emissions to economic output. Critics say that this target won't result in any absolute reduction in emissions, but actually a sizable increase.

	Emissions from a single American state can be comparable to those of other entire countries

The lack of action on the federal level doesn't mean that Americans are doing nothing about climate change, though. State and local governments are stepping into the vacuum left by Washington DC. Tackling global warming by region or state can have a big impact on the problem. Emissions from a single American state can be comparable to those of other entire countries, says Sonia Hamel, Special Assistant to the Office of Commonwealth Development in Massachusetts. "Our state emissions are on a par with Portugal or Egypt or Austria or Greece," she says, "And many of those countries have climate programs that they're working on."

	Something as simple as planning the timing of traffic lights can also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The actions most like mini-Kyoto Protocols at the state level are mandatory carbon dioxide emissions reduction plans. Maine was the first state to legislate statewide reductions, setting a target to get CO2 emissions down to 1990 levels by 2010, with further cuts in the future. New Jersey's target is to get GHG emissions down below 3.5% of 1990 levels by 2005. Several states are focusing on their power plants as a place to make a dent in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by business as usual. Power generators can install control equipment that collects emissions before they leave smokestacks as pollution. They can substitute less-polluting fuels, such as natural gas, for fossil fuels that burn more dirtily. Oregon has an innovative program that requires new power plants to offset 17% of their CO2 emissions; one way to do that is by contributing funds to a Climate Trust that works on projects that will reduce or sequester CO2, for instance through projects that focus on building efficiency, traffic signal timing, reforestation, and renewable energy use.
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