That first one was a cute story- the point about how Toronto talks the talk but doesn't back it up with any regulations on the city taxis is interesting. I also liked the quote about how the driver avoids getting any idling tickets- but that's a Canada thing and wouldn't motivate taxi drivers in the US. So maybe if we try to lobby for idling regulations, we could induce more people to buy hybrids? Well, it's a thought, but frankly I think the idling rules would have a harder time getting through here than mandatory hybrid taxis, because of the politics in our country right now. The EPA would have to make a public statement about how harmful idling is for that kind of push to have any impact, and under this administration, the chances of that are about as good as me getting struck by lightening in the next five seconds. Four, three, two, one, nope- didn't happen.

Taxis, on the other hand, are mostly local- cities regulate them, and most of our big cities are ruled by Democrats, many of whom have much better records than the administration when it comes to taking environmental issues seriously. So it's possible- we could see more local initiatives like this, soon:
(From adamek's second link)