As I noted in an earlier post, 140 American cities have signed on to an agreement to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

…just since this January.

Two articles in the press today indicate that this has caught people’s attention. A Washington Post article, GOP Warms Up to Emissions Cuts states that John McCain (R-Ariz.), Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) are all jockying to add plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to the Senate version of the energy bill.

Hagel says that;

“We need to deal with global warming, not only because it’s the right thing to do, it’s the smart political and diplomatic thing to do.”

While a Democrat noted;

“There is some political payoff in this.”

The L.A. Times writes that a growing number of U.S corporations are calling for action on global warming, noting that they are;

sensing a business opportunity in cutting greenhouse gases while hoping to shape regulations they believe are inevitable.

(Probably more the latter would be my guess.)

Do you suppose that there’s any connection between the 140 cities taking action on this and the sudden interest on the national level? Or is it pure coincidence?

You might say that it’s a case of “Act locally; watch them scramble globally.”