Jeffrey Ball reports that state efforts to cap greenhouse gas emissions "are starting to collide" with powerful political and industry interests that so far have succeeded in blocking a federal crackdown. Pointing to efforts from California to the Northeast, Ball writes that "the patter so far suggests that on climate change, thinking globally and acting locally is easier said than done." Ball reports on various states' efforts but quotes Bush administration Council on Environmental Quality Chairman James Connaughton as substantially qualifying the actions: "When you see what the states are actually doing, as opposed to what rhetorically is showing up in press releases, what the states are doing is very rational." Ball reports that in some cases the perennial and age-old jobs-vs.-environment debate is making it more difficult for local leaders to move ahead with greenhouse control efforts.