When the chief climate negotiator for the United States went on British TV last week to say there was insufficient evidence of global warming to require action from the world's most flagrant producer of greenhouse gases, the rest of the world probably thought he represented the views of all Americans. In fact, Harlon Watson's statements only confirm how out of touch Congress and the Bush administration are. As the polls document their spiraling decline in popularity, a powerful insurgency is mobilizing to start doing what the federal government refuses to do. You see, while Watson was dissing the Kyoto Protocol as being anti-business, corporate behemoths such as General Electric, Xerox and Exelon were announcing plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions and invest in alternative energy technologies. U.S. car buyers were flooding automakers with orders for hybrids. Voters across the nation were passing measures requiring utilities to switch to clean, green energy sources. The mayors of 146 cities, representing more than 30 million Americans in 36 states, were signing on to the Kyoto goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 7 percent below 1990 levels. Never mind the red-blue divide. After a year of almost biblical floods, hurricanes and gas prices, the country is rapidly going very green. The mayors of Denver, Boulder and Aspen have signed on to the Kyoto agreement along with those of such cities as Los Angeles; New York; Miami; New Orleans; Topeka, Kan.; Little Rock, Ark.; Missoula, Mont.; and even Hurst, Texas. The idea was born in Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' State of the City speech in January. The Northwest has been experiencing unusually warm weather and low snowpacks for several years, said Marianne Bichsel, the mayor's communications director, and Nickels was concerned that not enough was being done to address the problem. "He said, 'If the federal government is not going to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol, why can't we just do it at the local level?' " Bichsel said. Nickels sent a letter to the nation's mayors in February. Signatures immediately started pouring in. "We were amazed at how easy it was to get them to sign on," Bichsel said. "We haven't done any lobbying at all." The Democratic mayor of New Orleans spoke of rising sea levels Advertisement In Aspen, the plan is to convene the best minds to find solutions. "Because we have the Aspen Institute and the Rocky Mountain Institute, we can pool our resources and collaborate with other entities to develop climate policy," said Dan Richardson, who was named Aspen's new global warming czar last week. "We're here to prove we can make progress in reducing greenhouse gases." As part of Denver's effort, Mayor John Hickenlooper launched his Sustainable Development Initiative last month. "More and more evidence shows that climate change could affect our water supply, our tourism industry and the whole economy on the Western Slope," said Beth Conover, director of the initiative. The city signed on to the Kyoto Protocol, she said, because the impacts of global warming are "local and very relevant." Clearly impatient with the likes of Harlon Watson, cities across the nation are creating incentives for more energy-efficient buildings, expanding mass transit options, making land-use decisions that reduce the need for long commutes, implementing "green-fleets" programs for city vehicles and investing in alternative energy sources. "The time for debate is over," Richardson said. From Aspen to Duluth, Minn., and Macon, Ga., people are thinking globally, acting locally. And ignoring Washington altogether. Diane Carman's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached at 303-820-1489 or dcarman@denverpost.com.
Going against the Bush administration's opposition to the Kyoto Protocol, more than 130 U.S. mayors have pledged to meet or beat certain Kyoto targets by 2012.  Examples include anti-sprawl land-use policies or encouraging cruise lines to turn off their engines while docked.

Critics of the Kyoto Protocol claim it is unnecessary, due to an alleged or perceived lack of clear evidence that global warming is due to human activities.