New York Times: Though it looked earlier in the week as if it might be something of a nail-biter, the New York State Senate ultimately passed a landmark energy efficiency and green jobs bill late last Thursday. The implications of the bill, which has already passed the state Assembly and appears likely to be signed by the governor, might seem profoundly local. But like similar endeavors quietly unfolding across the globe, the New York legislation aims at one of the most intractable barriers to …