Beyond Kyoto

U.S. to announce 'Beyond Kyoto' greenhouse pact - Yahoo! News

"...the United States and Australia have never ratified the [Kyoto] protocol because it excluded major developing nations such China and India."

"Australian Environment Minister Ian Campbell said on Wednesday that the five countries had been quietly working on the pact for months.

'It's quite clear the Kyoto protocol won't get the world to where it wants to go ... We have got to find something that works better[...],' Campbell told reporters on Wednesday."

"...analysts say the protocol is of limited use because many signatories are already above their emission targets."

Nations as a whole may be exceeding their targets, but – just as there are pockets of low entropy in the universe – some places are producing lower emissions than others:

"Greenhouse gas emissions last year in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, dropped below the level of 1990, and per capita emissions were down 13 percent.

The city has also built 750 miles of bicycle paths, and the number of people commuting by foot or on bicycle has increased 10 percent."