Both groups have won recent court rulings in lawsuits aimed at banning fossil fuels. The plaintiffs seek to punish companies that provide gas, oil, and coal to power the electric grid, cars, airplanes, and other useful modern amenities.
This is beyond foolish. For instance, try getting to Hawaii on solar or wind power.
Thanks to the Hawaii Supreme Court, which inexplicably just gave it a green light, the city of Honolulu is accusing fossil fuel producers of causing global warming. Nefarious energy companies have misled the public about the effects on the worldwide climate, the city claims. In Sunoco v. Honolulu, the city is asking for damages for local alleged climate impacts. (See related story)
The city did stop short of listing recent volcano eruptions, which are still considered acts of God.
Instead of tossing out the boneheaded shakedown, the Hawaii Supreme Court said the city has a right to sue for damages. That goes against many previous federal rulings that states cannot intrude on other states’ sovereignty. If Honolulu somehow got away with crippling energy companies, it would affect the other 49 states, not to mention the world.
Meanwhile, a judge in Montana has ruled for 16 young plaintiffs who claim that state agencies are violating their rights by allowing fossil fuel development.
Montana produces lots of coal and has vast oil and gas reserves. In 1972, the state adopted a Green Amendment to its constitution guaranteeing “a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.” Sounds nice. But, talk about unintended consequences.
In March 2020, lawyers for the climate activist group Our Children's Trust filed Held v. Montana on behalf of the plaintiffs, then aged 2 through 18. Montana District Judge Kathy Seely ruled for the plaintiffs in August 2023, an opinion the Montana Supreme Court upheld on Dec. 18, 2024.
Judge Seely rejected the state’s argument that Montana’s emissions are, on a worldwide scale, insignificant. She said they were “a substantial factor” in climate change.
“Every additional ton of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions exacerbates plaintiffs’ injuries and risks locking in irreversible climate injuries,” said Seeley, who may well be wearing a secret white lab coat under her robes. Bear in mind we’re talking about a state with less than one percent of the U.S. population.
Here’s how the Associated Press summarizes climate science:
“Carbon dioxide, which is released when fossil fuels are burned, traps heat in the atmosphere and is largely responsible for the warming of the climate.” Really? You know that for sure? The cycles of the sun are pretty much irrelevant?
“This spring, carbon dioxide levels in the air reached the highest levels they’ve been in over 4 million years, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration said earlier this month,” the AP said.
Note the certainty. They know what’s allegedly been going on for four million years, including super-warm epochs a few thousand years ago when people were not driving Ford F-150s or even using curling irons.
Montana’s Republican officials are determined to have Judge Seely’s ruling overturned.
In nearby Wyoming, legislators are going on offense. Two lawmakers – Sen. Sheri Steinmetz and Rep. John Bear – have introduced a bill titled, “Make carbon dioxide great again – no net zero.”
The proposed law states that “carbon dioxide is not a pollutant and is a beneficial substance.” It lists many upsides, including this:
“Agricultural production worldwide is outpacing population growth and breaking production records primarily due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide.”
Well, bully for them. It’s way past time that the whole “CO2 is dangerous” scheme was unmasked.
A group of physics scientists formed the CO2 Coalition in 2015 to counter claims by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the world needs to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The coalition says this is not only impossible but life threatening, since so much of our sustenance depends on abundant fossil fuel energy.
In Canada, Alberta’s United Conservative Party passed a resolution on Nov. 2, 2024, calling on the government to abandon net zero targets, remove CO2’s designation as a pollutant, and “recognize that CO2 is a foundational nutrient for all life on Earth.”
Climate change activists counter that they just want to save the planet. That’s probably true for the kids in the Montana lawsuit. They’ve been on the receiving end of climate propaganda all their young lives. But the powerful climate lobby has other motives, such as increasing their own and government power and facilitating redistribution of wealth.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, Vermont socialist, and others are blaming climate change for the horrific wildfires in Los Angeles instead of the obvious culprit: The Democrats’ mismanagement of natural resources. Never let a crisis go to waste.
Self-defeating climate policies empower the world’s biggest polluter – China. As children and leftist city officials tie up our courts with frivolous climate activism, the Chinese open new coal plants daily and laugh at the idiot Americans.
But their days of mirth may be numbered. The American people spoke loudly in November on how they feel about a U.S. administration that was forcing electric car mandates and other economically absurd schemes down our throats.
On Jan. 20, a new sheriff will be in town … and he doesn’t take a knee to the climate bullies.
This article appeared originally here.
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