6 automakers sued by California Gov't

[vexor]

California sues GM, Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan The U.S. sate of California filed a lawsuit today against GM, Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Toyota, and Nissan for the "public nuisance" they have created by building and selling millions of vehicles that contribute to global warming. "Vehicle emissions are the single most rapidly growing source of the carbon emissions contributing to global warming, yet the federal government and the automakers have refused to act," Attorney General Bill Lockyer said. "It is time to hold these companies responsible for their contribution to this crisis," Lockyer said. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California, is seeking damages for air pollution, damage to the water supply, and beach erosion. The suit claims the pollution and climate change are costing California millions. Lockyer said the lawsuit is a first of its kind. "Global warming is causing significant harm to California's environment, economy, agriculture and public health. The impacts are already costing millions of dollars and the price tag is increasing," said Lockyer. The complaint alleges that under federal and state common law the automakers have created a public nuisance by producing "millions of vehicles that collectively emit massive quantities of carbon dioxide," a greenhouse gas that traps atmospheric heat and causes global warming. Under the law, a "public nuisance" is an unreasonable interference with a public right, or an action that interferes with or causes harm to life, health or property. The complaint asks the court to hold the defendants liable for damages, including future harm, caused by their ongoing, substantial contribution to the public nuisance of global warming. As stated in the complaint, the automakers produce vehicles that emit a combined 289 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in the United States each year. Those emissions, the complaint alleges, currently account for nearly 20 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States and more than 30 percent in California. The defendants rank "among the world's largest contributors to global warming and the adverse impacts on California," according to the complaint. "Global warming has already injured California, it environment, its economy, and the health and well-being of its citizens," the complaint alleges. "California is responding to the ongoing impacts and the inevitable additional future impacts of global warming. The State is spending millions of dollars on planning, monitoring, and infrastructure changes to address a large spectrum of current and anticipated impacts, including reduced snow pack, coastal and beach erosion, increased ozone pollution, sea water intrusion into Delta drinking supplies, response to impacts on wildlife, including endangered species and fish, wildfire risks, and the long-term need to monitor on-going and inevitable impacts. California has already begun to address the decline in the snow pack and earlier melting of the snow pack in order to avert water shortages and flooding in the future." Dealing with global warming's harmful effects, the complaint adds, "will almost certainly cost millions more." Today's filing comes as Lockyer fights the auto industry's attempt to invalidate California's landmark global warming regulations curbing tailpipe emissions. In their federal-court lawsuit, the automakers claim the regulations, adopted in 2005 through legislation sponsored by Assembly Member Fran Pavley, are pre-empted by federal law. Lockyer is defending the rules against the industry's legal challenge. Lockyer noted the Bush Administration's inaction on global warming has forced California and other states to take action on their own. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing a lawsuit filed by Lockyer, 11 other Attorneys General, two cities and major environmental groups challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) refusal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Numerous parties have submitted amicus briefs supporting the states, including climate scientists, three former EPA Administrators, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and environmental and religious groups. In addition, Lockyer, along with nine other state Attorneys General, the District of Columbia and the City of New York, filed a lawsuit earlier this year challenging the Bush Administration's new fuel economy standards for SUVs and light trucks. That complaint alleges the rules fail to address the effects on the environment and global warming. California is particularly vulnerable to global warming impacts. According to a report recently submitted by the Climate Action Team to Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature, the consequences of climate change in California will be "severe." "We are seeing the harmful impacts of global warming today, and if we continue with 'business as usual,' we can expect to see more and larger impacts in the future," said Lockyer. "As a coastal state, an agricultural state, and a state that relies on its Sierra snow pack, California has an enormous stake in acting now to combat global warming."

- LeftLaneNews.com

[HeilSvenska]

Dang. You beat me to it.

But this really made me angry. How can you f*cking sue car companies for making cars? Why the hell do we have cars here? Are they going to sue drivers for emitting greenhouse gas? What about all the factories they have here? Are these stupid idiot liberals going to sue them too? What are they going to do next? Kick people out of parks because they're loitering therefore becomes public nuisances? I know California is a litigious region, but this lawsuit and everything else like this ceased to make sense anymore. F*cking Bill a**hole Lockyer. He's nothing but a tired old liberal who needed something for people to remember him by, nothing more. He doesn't care for the environment. He probably drives a car.

If people think that this is some sort of a precedent for similar lawsuits to come, then they're wrong. It will not stop car makers from making cars. It will not stop people from driving cars. This is nothing more than an empty threat.

[nthfinity]

But this really made me angry. How can you f*cking sue car companies for making cars?

worse then that, they are sueing using public funds, public courts.... all in all, its a farce, and i guess mr. Atturney needed something to keep him busy; and the enviornment gets votes in CA :roll:

honestly, I expect this to be thrown out in any other state but California

[TopGearNL]

LMAO no point asking if its a joke, no surprises any more out of America :roll:

[HeilSvenska]

I got angry, so I wrote out my rantings.

Shock and horror as California's liberal Attorney General Bill Lockyer reveals that California has filed a lawsuit against GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota for "public nuisance". That's about all the companies that matter in the automotive industry. According to Lockyer, these car companies produce cars that will harm the earth, including California, so they are responsible for all the damages the caused over the years and for all the damages they will cause in the future, even though these damages not just caused by cars alone. This lawsuit is nothing more than an attention grabbing headline issue for a man who obviously needs something for people to remember him by in the history books. Unfortunately for him, this lawsuit will not stop car companies from producing cars. I mean, how can you sue a perfectly legal car making firm for making cars? It's ludicrous. Not only that, logic behind this lawsuit is most troubling. If a state is allowed to sue car companies for building cars, then what stops them from holding its citizens accountable for owning or driving cars? Of course, a state cannot sue everyone driving in it, but it can surely raise vehicle registration fees and the license renewal fees. This lawsuit does not represent California. This Attorney General, supposedly elected by the consent of the citizens of this state, is clearly out of control. Even if environmentalists outwardly support this lawsuit, it is very likely that they drive cars made by one of the six car manufacturers that are being sued. This lawsuit will not persuade car companies to build more environmentally friendly cars, especially when they are being drained of money from the government due to irrational lawsuits and increasing number of unnecessary regulations. Bill Lockyer also has a personal motive for pushing forward this "landmark" lawsuit which will undoubtedly be praised by liberals everywhere. He's looking to keep his title of Attorney General in the November 7th General Election and obviously he wants to use this lawsuit to propel himself into spotlight, a lawsuit that was conveniently filed so close to the election month. This is indeed a landmark lawsuit. It is a blatant attack on the American companies, automotive and other. It is an attack against industrialism, attack against right to buy cars that people want, attack against logic and common sense. The lawsuit's major proponent, if not its creator, Bill Lockyer claims that this lawsuit is for the benefit of California. However, one can't help but wonder if this lawsuit nothing more than a personal advertisement. He does not represent California, or Californians. This will be remembered not as the day California lost its common sense, but it will be remembered as the day the entire world learned that California lost its common sense. I hope my rant made you realize that we are living in truly troubling times. Thank you for reading.

Yeah. I wrote this for fun, so that I could post it on myspace and facebook.

[sentra_dude]

OMFG is about all I have to say... :roll:

[666fast]

Meh, it'll get tossed. Cars caused Glabal Warming is their arguement. Well, you are gonna have to prove Global Warming exists in the first place. Good luck with that.

If, for some unimaginable reason, Cali wins. I say, don't sell anymore cars in California. That'll teach 'em good.

[yg60m]

Stupid ! :roll: He doesn't know what to invent ...

[Mattk]

This is nothing more than an empty threat.

No it's not. It's quite obvious Lockyer is not going to win. If he thinks he is, he's a loser and doesn't deserve to be A-G. What he is trying to do is further his left-wing tirade against this supposed global warming and make the masses aware of it. Ad campaigns can only do so much. Something as ridiculous as a lawsuit against car companies will do the trick to spread his ideals.

Obviously he drives a car. Obviously California's govt owns lots of cars. He's doing this just to get attention.

[Mattk]

I thought that official opinion of the USA was that there is no such thing as global warming.

That's the federal govt's official line. California obviously thinks differently.

This lawsuit is a joke to anyone who has brains.

To the contrary, I think it is a highly intelligent way of gaining lots of publicity. A lot of lawsuits are purely to get publicity for a social cause of some sort.

[acmarttin]

I'm going to sue California for creating Californians.

(Y'all can't drive.)

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by dani_d_mas What an idiot... it's like people with cancer suing the tobacco companies! :roll: :roll: And it's well known that the car is not the most important factor in global warming: it's the industry, the house warming (!)... and then, the cars.

third world countires, and various industry produce WAYYYYYYYYY more smog then cars on a percentage scale vs. cars.

besides, all long dating samples of extended history shows cycles just like the one we are in... that is to say, while various polutants may contribute to it, it isn't out of the ordinary in terms of 10's of thousands of years, and even millions, and billions of years by retrospect.

I mean.... haven't the temperatures around Hurricane ally been warm enough to produce record numbers of hurricanes that are stronger then before? oh... i guess thats not what happened now (well, there are still a few months of hurricane season left)

People will find what they are searching for in general, while many in the scientific community know that, there are still too many who will just automatically say "global warming caused by humans" without any real evidence to suggest that.

Another aspect, in terms of history of the last 400+ years, its widly been accepted that until the mid 1800's there was a "mini ice age" which attributed to fammins, deaths, record winters etc. etc. would it not also make sence that coming out of this "mini ice age" during the dawn of weather data keeping, and analysis over the last 150-200 years sees a gradual warming trend?

but that is too easy, it doesn't fit the tag line that Humans are Evil, and Corperations are BAAAAAD

also, Just today.... It was announced (i kid you not)
the Oceans have cooled in the last 3 years. These scientists said this...
"sometimes global warming can reverse temporarily" LOL

[Mattk]

"sometimes global warming can reverse temporarily"

What!?!? A pretty dumb thing to say, for supposedly smart scientists.

Lockyer's ultimate aim is to get left-wingers across America to hate Bush and support the Democrats. Like that's going to work, for one of the most apolitical societies on Earth.

[pagani]

I am really getting tired of this global warning bullshit.
They first need to prove it that something like global warming is real.
And i thought that california is the car mecca of the usa.
:roll:

[black_magician]

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :wanker: :wanker: :fuck: :fuck: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :bad-words:



dumbasses.