This entry references Ronald Brownstein's article "Local Governments Get Serious About the Environment" in the October 1 Los Angeles Times.

Though Ronald Brownstein champions an important new trend in local governments' approach to dealing with the ever increasing threat of global warming and just plain stupid energy policy, he pays lip service to only one half of the solution.

Energy efficiency, green building practices and innovation on the load side of the equation are vitally important weapons in the war against the harmful effects of fossil fuel use. But it is just as important to encourage the use of nonpolluting, green, energy-generating technologies to complement "smart" buildings and replace old, dirty, fossil fuel-generated electricity.

The answer is "negawatts" and megawatts — energy efficiency plus renewable power, the sum total of which is zero harm to the environment. So the vision should be great new buildings powered by integrated solar electric systems.