Under the Democratic mayor, Salt Lake City said "yes" in 2002 to the international agreement to cut carbon-dioxide emissions that President Bush rejected because, the White House said, it would harm the economy.

On Thursday, a day after returning from the U.N. climate conference in Buenos Aires, Anderson said local governments have an important role in protecting the environment, especially in the face of Bush's "irresponsible" policy.

The mayor predicts that by next year - seven years ahead of the 2012 deadline - the amount of greenhouse-gas emissions his government produces will be cut by 7 percent. The city has reduced its emissions by 21,500 tons a year. The goal is 27,000 tons.

Some scientists say global warming is caused by the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere. Conference reports revealed that 2004 will be one of the warmest years on record, and that climbing temperatures could cause extreme weather and reduce food and water supplies.

Saying global warming is "perhaps the most important problem facing our world," Anderson says he now wants to turn his attention to recruiting individuals and more businesses to cut down their use of gasoline-powered vehicles and reduce their reliance on energy produced from coal-burning plants - two main producers of carbon dioxide.

Remember the 1971 "Keep America Beautiful" commercial in which a tear trickles down the face of Iron Eyes Cody as he looks at a litter-strewn highway? It shamed many Americans into properly canning their trash. And the mayor wants residents to feel just as embarrassed - if not more so - when they gas up their SUVs.

Like the mayor says he feels every time he slides into his Suburban.

He says he occasionally uses his SUV in the winter when his natural-gas-powered Honda Civic can't handle the snow.

"I don't think we're going to see the kind of progress that we need if there's not a better public-relations strategy in place to create the personal and business ethic that will motivate people to do the right thing," Anderson said.

"If mass starvation, flooding, droughts, tornadoes and hurricanes aren't enough to get people's attention, maybe they'll be motivated to do their share to stop global warming if they realize that, by the end of the century, there will be virtually no ski industry throughout the world."

Anderson has urged other government bodies in Utah to join his efforts.

Tammy Kikuchi, spokeswoman for Jon Huntsman Jr., said the governor-elect wants to meet with Anderson again to review the mayor's ideas.

Anderson doesn't foresee mandating residents or businesses to change their energy use, though he expects government eventually will have to. Today, the most that cities in other states mandate is recycling and turning off lights at night in certain business districts, according to Michelle Wyman Pawar, executive director of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), which participated in the Argentina conference.

Anderson would like to see more people bike, walk and take TRAX light rail. He recently launched a walking campaign for city employees and has asked the city's transportation department to explore building dedicated bike lanes that physically separate cyclists from traffic.

He also wants to see more solar panels, persuade more residents to purchase wind power and use low-watt bulbs and encourage developers to build green-friendly structures.

The annual U.N. conference on climate change is about fine-tuning the Kyoto Protocol, which takes effect Feb. 16. It sets targets for 30 industrial nations to reduce greenhouse gases. Bush pulled out of the plan in 2001.

Salt Lake City and other U.S. cities are striving to meet the U.S. goal anyway, which is a 7 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2012.

Wyman Pawar said cities last year reduced their emissions by 20 million tons, allowing them to save $500 million.

Says Anderson: "There's a tremendous international disdain toward the United States for its arrogance in rejecting Kyoto. The refusal to join Kyoto by this country is irresponsible, and the disastrous consequences may indeed be irreversible."

The mayor gave three presentations on Salt Lake City's green initiatives. The city's efforts were touted by organizers as "perhaps the most comprehensive municipal environmental initiative in the United States."

hmay@sltrib.com

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.

What Salt Lake City has done to reduce greenhouse gases:

l Purchased five three-wheeled parking-enforcement vehicles that use less gasoline.

l Removed 35 SUVs from the city fleet and replaced them with smaller sedans or pickups.

l Acquired 89 compressed natural-gas vehicles, including shuttle buses at Salt Lake City International Airport.

l Implemented a variety of devices to encourage walking - from orange flags to streetlight countdown timers.

l Added 14 miles of bike lanes and 45 downtown bike racks in past four years.

l Provided three bicycles for city employees to use when they travel to meetings.

l Started offering 90-gallon recycling bins to residents and businesses.

l Recovered methane gas at the landfill.

l Converted 1,630 traffic lights and all of the bulbs in the City-County Building to be energy-efficient.

l Started a program to buy wind power (4,426 city residents and 110 businesses buy wind power).

l Launched a program to encourage businesses to conserve energy.