[Insanity in Portland: If they plant enough community gardens, will the weather in Kenya actually improve?]

The first town hall meeting on Portland and Multnomah County's proposed climate action plan is scheduled for tonight, with a focus on the plan's effect on business.

The 40-year plan's goals include planting 83,000 trees, funding eight miles of streetcar lines and building 1,300 community gardens in the next three years. Long term, it sets a goal of reducing carbon emissions in the county to 80 percent less than 1990 levels by 2050.

Lugar doubtful Congress will act on climate change | The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.

WASHINGTON – Prospects are dim that Congress will adopt legislation to force U.S. industry to cut pollution-creating emissions, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said Monday.
...
“The votes just haven’t been there, and I’m not sure they are now,” Lugar said in a meeting with journalists. He said the lack of legislation dealing with air pollution will likely stymie the U.N. meeting on climate change in December where diplomats hoped to reach a global agreement on emissions.

Lugar said there are similar internal disagreements in other countries, including China. Combined, the U.S. and China produce the most pollution in the world.

“Clearly, this is one world,” he said. “The atmosphere is filled, already, with CO2 from emissions from our two countries..."

Jan '09: Pretty remarkable stuff today from US Senator Dick Lugar

He admits that his personal farm has become a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange and that "we are a potential seller of carbon".