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NYC Sues Oil Companies Over Climate Change (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: New York City is seeking to lead the assault on both climate change and the Trump administration with a plan to divest $5 billion from fossil fuels and sue the world's most powerful oil companies over their contribution to dangerous global warming. City officials have set a goal of divesting New York's $189 billion pension funds from fossil fuel companies within five years in what they say would be "among the most significant divestment efforts in the world to date." Currently, New York City's five pension funds have about $5 billion in fossil fuel investments. New York state has already announced it is exploring how to divest from fossil fuels. New York's Mayor, Bill de Blasio, said that the city is taking the five fossil fuel firms -- BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Shell -- to federal court due to their contribution to climate change.
Court documents state that New York has suffered from flooding and erosion due to climate change and because of looming future threats it is seeking to "shift the costs of protecting the city from climate change impacts back on to the companies that have done nearly all they could to create this existential threat." The court filing claims that just 100 fossil fuel producers are responsible for nearly two-thirds of all greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution, with the five targeted companies the largest contributors. The case will also point to evidence that firms such as Exxon knew of the impact of climate change for decades, only to downplay and even deny this in public.
Court documents state that New York has suffered from flooding and erosion due to climate change and because of looming future threats it is seeking to "shift the costs of protecting the city from climate change impacts back on to the companies that have done nearly all they could to create this existential threat." The court filing claims that just 100 fossil fuel producers are responsible for nearly two-thirds of all greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution, with the five targeted companies the largest contributors. The case will also point to evidence that firms such as Exxon knew of the impact of climate change for decades, only to downplay and even deny this in public.
Where to start? Here's a few off the top of my head:
1. Petrochemicals are not just used for fuel, they are used to make plastics, fertilizer, and other chemicals (and medicines) that make modern standards of living possible, and prop up the lifestyle of every single New Yorker, from limousine liberal Manhattanite to hipster-doofus Brooklynite and everyone in between.
2. Most CO2 come from burning coal, not oil, and not in Western countries.
3. As others point out, as admitted shareholders, NYC is suing itself here. Great use of taxpayer dollars.
4. Global warming is a hoax. Given the fervor of the lefties about it in recent months, I'm honestly starting to believe that even the science is a hoax, not just the politics of it. Really. Honest to God.