The New York Times reported that Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago unveiled perhaps the most aggressive plan of any major city to reduce heat-trapping greenhouse gases. The blueprint would change the city's building codes to promote energy efficiency, and calls for installing huge solar panels at municipal properties and building alternative fueling stations.
The city plan draws on the work of climatologists that warn that failure to act will produce dire consequences. The Chicago initiative included consultation with business and labor leaders, as well as scientists and environmentalists, and involved 18 months of research and discussions.
The mayor is not waiting for the federal government to act and that is to his credit. More mayors and governors should follow his lead in making their cities and states green. The rewards will be great in so many ways. It will also force the federal government to get serious.
