Nine north-eastern states are poised to sign an agreement setting Kyoto-style legal limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power stations.

American highway
California is hoping to cut emissions from cars by 30%
New York and New Jersey are among these rebel states.

And in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is forging ahead with legislation to cut emissions from cars by 30% within a decade.

This could transform the motor industry.

Meanwhile, 187 mayors from US towns and cities, representing 40 million people, have pledged to adopt Kyoto targets for reducing greenhouse gases.

Some leading American transnational firms are also demanding mandatory cuts in CO2 so that they are not isolated as the developed world moves towards a low-carbon economy.

It is all happening despite President Bush's outright rejection of the Kyoto climate protocol, which he said would cost American jobs.

Top Gun wrote:I don't see it so much as "rebelling" as I see it as an example of the federal system in action. Just because the federal government chose not to abide by the Kyoto Protocol doesn't prevent any single state from imposing whatever restrictions they like on environmental conditions, as these governors are showing.

Stryker wrote:Now imagine this case, except the Federal Government did pretty much nothing except keep a standing military and enforce the laws, of which there were very few and clear (see the Ten Commandments for a good idea of what these laws were), and you'll start to get a picture of what the US was like pre-Civil War. With the exception of slavery, you have to admit it would have been a heck of a lot easier to live your life without a government agency or twenty breathing down your back.