California was the first state to regulate CO2 emissions from passenger cars and trucks, setting as a goal the "maximum feasible and cost-effective reduction" in greenhouse gases. The state's Air Resources Board is currently working on just how much of a reduction that is; the law will apply to vehicles from model vehicle year 2009 onward. This rule has the potential to be particularly influential because U.S. clean air laws allow California to set its own standards that exceed federal regulations; the other states have the choice to stick with federal clean air rules or follow California's tougher example.

	Some local programs mandate percentages of electricity be generated by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydropower.

Other local programs mandate particular percentages of electricity be generated by renewable energy sources that don't emit greenhouse gases, things like wind, solar, hydropower, even biomass and landfill gas. In the agricultural sector, some farm states help farmers capture methane from livestock waste, which then can be used as energy. Georgia leases "no-till" equipment to farmers, which disturbs the soil less and reduces the fuel necessary to get the crop into the ground. Reforestation programs work through tree-planting and forest health initiatives to sequester some carbon from the atmosphere in trees.

Energy conservation measures are a common tactic for states to limit their greenhouse gas emissions. Most energy in the U.S. currently comes from burning fossil fuels - think oil, gas, coal. Simply using less energy means less carbon dioxide and other pollutants are released into the atmosphere. And saving energy saves money - always a popular side effect. Some states offer rebates or tax incentives when residents or businesses buy energy-efficient products. Energy audits of buildings can identify inefficiencies and suggest replacements - focusing on things like insulation, windows, thermostats and lighting. Green building incentives help make it worthwhile for builders and developers to include environmentally beneficial features in new structures. Some states prohibit buying SUVs for government fleets, unless there is a genuine need for off-road capability, as a measure to limit gasoline consumption.

There's reason to think that as states around the country adopt these kinds of climate change resolutions, the federal government will be spurred into action. "This is the history of a lot of air regulation," says Sonia Hamel. "That we've done it first at the state level and the federal government has actually followed. An example of that is the acid rain program." The jumble of different global warming laws with different goals and different plans on how to reach them could force the national government's hand, says David Danner, Energy Advisor to Washington's Governor Gary Locke. "Certainly the federal government should be concerned that there's a patchwork of different regulations in every state, and they would like to have some uniformity," he says. "But we don't want that uniformity to be the lowest common denominator where nobody does anything."

In the meantime, many of these programs are already growing larger than just a single state. Regional associations are popping up, with groups of states banding together in both New England and along the West Coast. When states join forces, they are able to eliminate the concern that an individual state making strong climate change policy changes might be putting itself at a competitive disadvantage compared to its neighbors. (This addresses the type of worry that George Bush expressed about Kyoto, that it would be unfair for the U.S. to make big changes when economic competitors like China wouldn't have to.) Regional groups allow nearby states to share information and learn quickly what is working for their neighbors. And some policies make more sense regionally; for instance, as states work on setting efficiency standards for appliances not covered by federal regulations, an alliance of several states carries more weight with manufacturers. State coalitions represent bigger markets and so have more influence.

Installing solar panels on the statehouse is one thing, but thinking globally and acting locally can only take you so far with a problem as big as climate change. "There are so many areas that we can't deal with because the federal government controls things, like a lot of energy policy is set at the national level," says Danner. "These state actions are really a stopgap measure. We have to have the feds doing something. And I think this does put pressure." At international meetings, the federal government proudly cites local programs as examples of U.S. actions combating climate change. It remains to be seen whether any of those praised programs end up influencing national policy.

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