Sorry, the full piece is in Times Select ($), but here is how it starts ... and ends:
The factual debate about whether global warming is real is, or at least should be, over. The question now is what to do about it.
...
But California’s experience shows that serious conservation is a lot less disruptive, imposes much less of a burden, than the skeptics would have it. And the fact that a state government, with far more limited powers than those at Washington’s disposal, has been able to achieve so much is a good omen for our ability to do a lot to limit climate change, if and when we find the political will.
