Despite currently being America’s most polluted city, Los Angeles is looking to become the country’s most environmentally-friendly, according to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. During the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit, being held in New York from May 14 â€“ 17, Villaraigosa discussed his plan to cut the city’s emissions by 35 percent by 2030. As part of this plan, the L.A. mayor says he wants to change the way residents commute. To do so, Los Angeles will offer various incentives to commuters who use mass transportation. The plan also entails the distribution of 50,000 energy-efficient refrigerators to low-income residents.

That’s a nice opening statement. He puts the blame for federal inaction on climate change in the lap of the one man responsible for it. George W. Bush. If the president wanted, he could be using his power to create so many positive actions to halt and reverse global warming. Clearly Bush is not up to the task. That duty now falls to the local powers to take action. The mayors, the city governments, you and me.

Grass roots have always been better at building lasting change anyway. This shameful lack of leadership may actually be a blessing.