Mayor's Report: Emerald City still

Even if spring weren't on the horizon, green would be the color most on our minds. Both Seattle and the state of Washington appear to recognize the need and opportunities in changing energy usage to create a healthier environment.

Mayor Greg Nickels used his annual State of the City speech on Tuesday to do some justifiable boasting about the city's climate change efforts. More important, he laid out a new goal of making the city into America's "Green Building Capital."

The mayor said he will name a panel this spring to work on how to make that happen. But he set out three promising goals: improving energy efficiency in homes and businesses by 20 percent; making conservation pay off with lower heating bills for homeowners; and creating new "green-collar jobs" with the energy-efficiency push. As Nickels noted later, those will be jobs that cannot be exported, as work will stay here.

In Olympia, the House of Representatives also did some important greening up, right at a Tuesday deadline. Among other things, a House-passed climate measure would set the stage for joining other Western states in a cap-and-trade system for controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Like Nickels, House members spoke of new jobs. It's important that the Senate send the measure to the governor with provisions that are as strong or stronger.

In the evolving response to global warming, governments will have to be flexible. What seems to be enough today likely will be seen as inadequate in the future. But the optimistic, can-do spirit shown by the city and state ought to serve the public well in any season.