California sues carmakers over global warming

142538 Resource 107530 107631 205428 1158966261787 1216855530549 Controlled California Sues Auto Industry over Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Six largest auto makers sued by California over greenhouse gas emissions

Quite a legal storm is brewing in California this week as State Attorney General Bill Lockyer is blaming DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota for <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14924286/">emitting 30 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions</a> in the state.  <a target="_blank" href="http://www.grist.org/news/daily/2006/09/21/6/index.html" title="Grist editorial on CA sueing auto makers">According to Grist:</a><blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr">California sued the six largest auto manufacturers yesterday, saying that vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions are a public nuisance and seeking compensation for damage to the state's air, water supplies, coast, forests, wildlife, and people. "Basically, what we are saying is, it's old-fashioned economics. You should pay for the damage you cause," said State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, pointing a finger at DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota. The companies' vehicles are responsible for 30 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in California. The automakers argue that they're already working on clean cars, and say all things climate change should be left to the feds. They also argue that the litigation has no legal merit, but environmental law expert Sean Hecht disagrees: "It's novel, but based on standard nuisance law, [California] certainly [has] a shot at convincing a judge that the burdens this industry imposes on society are too great."<a href="http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=e05f85dd-8b00-45d5-a901-12abda27f2d3&f=rssmoney&fg=rss&f=15/64rssmoney"></a><a href="http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=e05f85dd-8b00-45d5-a901-12abda27f2d3&f=rssmoney&fg=rss&f=15/64rssmoney"></a>Bill Lockyear gave a great interview on CNBC today.  CNBC Morning Squawk host, Joe Kernen tried to spin the Attorney General’s lawsuit as having no merit and a liberal farce, but Lockyer remained logical and calm.  You’ll have to endure questions about the HP leak scandal as well, but it’s well worth the listening time.</blockquote>Have a great weekend! Erin Swanson <a href="mailto:Eswanson@enviance.com">Eswanson@enviance.com</a> 9 application/xml false auto California greenhouse gas greenhouse gas emissions California sues carmakers over global warming 'Time to hold these companies responsible,' attorney general says http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14924286/ The New Nuisance Thing California sues automakers over greenhouse-gas emissions http://www.grist.org/news/daily/2006/09/21/6/index.html Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.16) Gecko/20080702 Firefox/2.0.0.16 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 jwuebben 74.202.198.130 false true false false true 205814 false false true false false false true 107530 blog blogsite/Enviance/web