Why should state and local governments respond to a problem with so many national and international ramifications? As we have seen, Buffalo and New York have much to lose from climate change, and much to gain from preventing it. Moreover, it is clearer than ever that states and localities will have to lead the way. In the past two years, the Democrats have failed to pass meaningful climate change legislation despite controlling the Presidency, Senate, and House. The chances are even more remote with a Republican Congress, including many members who deny that climate change is occurring, that it is man-made, or that it is dangerous. Only when a critical mass of states and localities are limiting carbon emissions and promoting green technology, energy, and development will national solutions become possible. And only by using states and localities as the “laboratories of democracy,” where different solutions are tested, will we arrive at national and international policies that truly work.