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The San Francisco Chronicle (May 24, 2007) notes that the Berkeley City Council has passed a measure aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050:

"While San Francisco, Oakland and other local governments in the Bay Area have approved policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Berkeley is the first to begin spelling out how people would be expected to reduce their carbon footprints.
Some measures will be popular and easy, like a car-share vehicle on every block and free bus passes. But others will be bitter pills, such as strict and costly requirements that homes have new high-efficiency appliances, solar-powered water heaters, insulation in the walls and other energy savers.
'It will challenge people, and it will be difficult,' said Cisco DeVries, chief of staff to Mayor Tom Bates and one of those coordinating the city's greenhouse gas reduction efforts. 'But if Berkeley's niche isn't leadership on this issue, then what is it? This is what we should be doing.'
It won't be quick, and it won't be easy, especially in a city where even the most mundane zoning minutia can become mired in months of debate. Few of the proposals have been approved yet, and some might not be ready for decades.
Berkeley started with an estimate of all the emissions attributable to residents and businesses in the city. These include sources within the city limits, such as cars and trucks and natural gas consumption, and Berkeley's estimated share of those outside the city, such as electricity generation and solid waste sites.
The city generated, directly or indirectly, 696,498 tons of greenhouse gases in 2000, the benchmark the city will use to measure its 80 percent reduction. That figure has already dropped almost 9 percent, but that's due largely to greener energy practices by Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
To reach an 80 percent reduction, sacrifices would have to be made in all quarters of the city.
Under the emissions crash diet, builders will use only recycled and green materials. Residents will be told exactly how many carbon units they're generating based on the cars they own, the distances they drive, the waste they generate and the energy they consume. Landlords will be required to provide free bus passes to tenants.
To help out, the city plans to create an assessment district to help residents buy solar panels for their homes -- an idea Berkeley officials think other cities will copy. The costs would be tacked on to property tax bills over the course of 30 years so homeowners won't be stung by the steep up-front price, which can reach thousands of dollars.
Berkeley's green blueprint calls on people to take small steps on a daily basis as well. Incentives and legislation will make common many activities only a few practice now -- walking to work, using cloth shopping bags, buying locally grown produce, shutting off appliances and reducing their use of nonrecyclable packaging."

You can read the whole article here:
IT WON'T BE EASY BEING GREEN