...but there are no rules in the United States regulating heat-trapping gases comparable to those that most other developed countries have adopted under the Kyoto Protocol. Some United States businesses, though, are responding [to climate change] for a variety of reasons anyway: to satisfy customers or shareholders who worry about the environment, to improve their public image or to drive down their energy costs. In addition, some states and local authorities have stepped in to try to curb their contributions to global warming. [refers to Timberland, IBM, DuPont, 3M, Advanced Micro Devices, Gap, Wal-Mart, Johnson & Johnson, Exelon, Duke Energy]