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This article reports on grass-roots efforts for environmental protection in the United States. Could the next grass-roots revolution in America be over climate change? George Bush stomped out of the UN's Kyoto treaty on global warming three years ago and did a U-turn on campaign pledges to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). Since then, he has refused to come up with sensible domestic policies. Yet that very obstinacy has fomented a backlash in the states. Massachusetts led the way by imposing curbs on CO2 emissions from power plants. The New England states have also joined the eastern provinces of Canada in vowing to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 12% by the end of the decade. Not to be outdone by Yankees, California, Oregon and Washington have now banded together to tackle climate change. California has passed the country's first law regulating emissions of greenhouse gases from cars.

The article focuses on combating climate change. Climate change is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide released from the transport and energy sectors. Studies have shown that an admissible temperature increase and long-term temperature stability could be induced at a concentration of 550 ppm of carbon dioxide equivalents in the atmosphere. The U.S. and the European Union countries are responsible for the maximal emission of carbon dioxide. As the climate change is a global issue, it should be handled at the global level.