OMG I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!!!

[JS80]

Calif. sues 6 carmakers in global warming suit

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California filed a global warming lawsuit on Wednesday against Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and three other automakers, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have cost the state millions of dollars.

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California was the first of its kind to seek to hold manufacturers liable for the damages caused by their vehicles' emissions.

The lawsuit also names Chrysler Motors Corp., the U.S. arm of Germany's DaimlerChrysler, and the North American units of Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd..

It also charges that vehicle emissions have contributed significantly to global warming and harmed the resources, infrastructure and environmental health of the most populous state in the United States.

Lockyer, a Democrat, said the complaint states 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."

Carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases have been linked to global warming.

The lawsuit comes after California passed legislation supported by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that requires the state to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 25 percent by 2020. California was the first state to mandate reduction of greenhouse gases.

California has also issued rules to force automakers to cut tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks. Enforcement of those rules is being delayed by litigation from automakers.

 

[Deeko]

wow.

 

[txrandom]

I'm going to sue for fat people for farting and raising global warming levels!

 

[nakedfrog]

Just when you thought lawsuits couldn't get any more inane...

 

[mzkhadir]

Link does not work

 

[ArchCenturion]

Lockyer, a Democrat, said the complaint states 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."


Seems to me not having a car would be more than a "nuisance".

 

[acemcmac]

$5 says that those law makers aren't rolling around in Priuses either

 

[Thraxen]

Only in California (I hope). That's just stupid. As long as they have been following state and federal emissions guidelines I don't see how a suit like has any hope of going anywhere.

 

[LtPage1]

That's hilarious.

Next, I want to see a lawsuit against factory farmers for breeding millions of greenhouse gas producing cows.

 

[everman]

The auto manufacturers should sue CA for being a nuisance, always asking for stricter guidelines and now inane lawsuits with no foundation. Then the people of CA should sue the state for wasting more of their money.

 

[R Nilla]

the automakers should sue CA for being sofa king we taw ded.

 

[Dualist]

Wow, I just find that hilarious.

 

[TXHokie]

Originally posted by: txrandom
I'm going to sue for fat people for farting and raising global warming levels!

You're going after the wrong people...it's the cows -> Article

 

[crystal]

Originally posted by: LtPage1
That's hilarious.

Next, I want to see a lawsuit against factory farmers for breeding millions of greenhouse gas producing cows.

One step at a time my good sir. One step at a time.

 

[compnovice]

I hope the judge rules something like this:

I find the GM, Chevy, Toyota cars have indeed led to global warming. To reduce this trend the I order the prosecuting lawyers and the litigators to stop using cars.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: txrandom
I'm going to sue for fat people for farting and raising global warming levels!

I'm actually quite skinny, but I contribute an unbelievably amount of gas to the atmosphere...

 

[BrownTown]

Reminds me of when North Carolina sued a bunch of utilities for using coal based on the whole "Public Nuisance" thing. Anyways, I'm still waiting for that earthquake to come and break California off from the mainland, we be much better off without them. Actually now that I think about it it might jsut be easier if the earthquake only killed them all so we could comeback and repopulate the area with people that werent hippies.

 

[teddyv]

It is quite amusing. Were I the defense lead my first move would be to point out to the court that Kalifornia already regulates vehicles for environmental impact, in fact more than any other state, and by suing they are merely making a tacit admission to the court that the cause of the environmental damage is in fact their own failed and innefective regulations. I'd then ask the court, in light of the State's admission, to strike all of Kalifornia's automotive environmental regulations as punitive, admittedly innefective, and overly burdensome.

 

[Kelvrick]

Hmm... So who made this decision?

Should I be writing my congressman, the governor, who to show my displeasure?

 

[Vic]

Politics. CA wants to mandate new emissions laws, the automakers are balking.

 

[Journer]

stupidity of population +1
rationality of population -20

 

[lokiju]

We're sorry... this story is not currently available

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Just when you thought lawsuits couldn't get any more inane...

I don't like your tone mister!

Prepare to hear from my lawyer! :|

 

[Ktulu]

Originally posted by: Journer
stupidity of population +1
rationality of population -20

Politicians != Population

:roll:

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: lokiju
We're sorry... this story is not currently available

New link

Calif. sues carmakers over global warming

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California sued six of the world's largest automakers over global warming on Wednesday, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have caused billions of dollars in damages.

The lawsuit is the first of its kind to seek to hold manufacturers liable for the damages caused by their vehicles' emissions, state Attorney General Bill Lockyer said.

It also comes less than a month after California lawmakers adopted the nation's first global warming law mandating a cut in greenhouse gas emissions.

An automaker trade group called the global warming move a "nuisance suit." Car manufacturers have also held up California state rules to force cuts in tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks with legal action of their own.

The lawsuit names General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - news), Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T), the Chrysler Motors Corp. U.S. arm of Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG (DCXGn.DE) and the North American units of Japan's Honda Motor Co. (7267.T) and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (7201.T).

"(California) just passed a new law to cut global warming emissions by 25 percent and that's a good start and this lawsuit is a good next step," said Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming Program.

Lockyer told Reuters he would seek "tens or hundreds of millions of dollars" from the automakers in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages for past and ongoing contributions to global warming and asks that the companies be held liable for future monetary damages to California.

It noted that California is spending millions to deal with reduced snow pack, beach erosion, ozone pollution and the impact on endangered animals and fish.

"The injuries have caused the people to suffer billions of dollars in damages, including millions of dollars of funds expended to determine the extent, location and nature of future harm and to prepare for and mitigate those harms, and billions of dollars of current harm to the value of flood control infrastructure and natural resources," it said.

Ford deferred comment to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which called the complaint a "nuisance suit" similar to one a New York court dismissed.

"Automakers will need time to review this legal complaint, however, a similar nuisance suit that was brought by attorneys- general against utilities was dismissed by a federal court in New York," the industry group said in a statement.

Toyota declined to comment as the company evaluates the lawsuit. The other automakers had no immediate comment.

David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit organization that provides public research and forecasts into the industry, said it would be tough for the industry to immediately meet demands from some critics.

Adoption of diesel engine emissions technology or gasoline- electric hybrids comes at great cost and improving gas mileage also likely means smaller lighter vehicles, trade-offs that are not attractive to consumers, he added.

"These are not free technologies, they are very expensive," Cole said. "Most people are price sensitive."

In the complaint, Lockyer charges that vehicle emissions have contributed significantly to global warming and have harmed the resources, infrastructure and environmental health of the most populous state in the United States.

Lockyer -- a Democratic candidate for state treasurer in the November election -- said the lawsuit states 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."

Carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases have been linked to global warming.