Eroding Alaska town sues oil and power companies over global warming (1 Viewer)

[bclemms]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska: A tiny Alaska village eroding into the Arctic Ocean sued two dozen oil, power and coal companies Tuesday, claiming that the large amounts of greenhouse gases they emit contribute to global warming that threatens the community's existence.

The city of Kivalina and a federally recognized tribe, the Alaska Native village of Kivalina, sued Exxon Mobil Corp. and BP PLC, seven other oil companies, 14 power companies and one coal company in a lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco.

Kivalina is a traditional Inupiat Eskimo village of about 390 people about 625 miles northwest of Anchorage. It's built on an 8-mile barrier reef between the Chukchi Sea and Kivalina River.

Sea ice traditionally protected the community, whose economy is based in part on salmon fishing plus subsistence hunting of whale, seal, walrus, and caribou. But sea ice that forms later and melts sooner because of higher temperatures has left the community unprotected from fall and winter storm waves and surges that lash coastal communities.


http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/27/america/Global-Warming-Erosion.php

 

[MLU]

Good luck doing that in a court of law, where proof will be required...

 

[Capn_Morgan]

They need to aim bigger. File a lawsuit against every person on the planet.

 

[bclemms]

Good luck doing that in a court of law, where proof will be required...

That is what I thought until reading the suit was filed in San Fransisco. It wouldn't be surprising to see them win in San Fransisco before it gets thrown out by the Supreme Court.

 

[MLU]

San Fransisco or not, they're still going to need science to back them up. Global Warming caused by Man is the biggest scam going. It's proof that the GOP/Right doesn't own the rights to Fearmongering.

 

[SaintsBrazil]

Not only do they have to proove that GW is caused by humans, but that it is caused by those companies in particular. silly

 

[geauxboy]

...or to prove GW in the first place.

 

[TDH]

You can't stop progress!

 

[bclemms]

San Fransisco or not, they're still going to need science to back them up. Global Warming caused by Man is the biggest scam going. It's proof that the GOP/Right doesn't own the rights to Fearmongering.

I couldn't agree more that Global Warming caused by man is a load of ****. I agree that they should have to prove global warming is caused by man but San Fransisco was targeted to hear the case for a reason.

 

[N.O.Bronco]

While I think those that have somehow defied all current scientists and have concluded so adamantly that man has had NO role in global warming is one of the most laughable things i've seen in my life, this case is pretty silly itself.

 

[staphory]

I wonder if they still accept those Permanent Fund dividend checks?

 

[MLU]

...or to prove GW in the first place.

There is no denying that Global Warming exists. It is just unproven that man is the cause of it.

While I think those that have somehow defied all current scientists and have concluded so adamantly that man has had NO role in global warming is one of the most laughable things i've seen in my life, this case is pretty silly itself.

I don't know of anyone who says that man has NO role (at least on this thread), but science supports that there is no proof that man contributes to Global Warming. IMO, it's extremely arrogant to think that we can have that kind of effect on the planet. It will be here long after we are gone. We're like a mild case of eczema.

 

[staphory]

While I think those that have somehow defied all current scientists and have concluded so adamantly that man has had NO role in global warming is one of the most laughable things i've seen in my life, this case is pretty silly itself.

ALL current scientists? You sure about that?

 

[Shawn]

There is no denying that Global Warming exists. It is just unproven that man is the cause of it.

Science supports that there is no proof that man contributes to Global Warming.

I'm only passing through, because this issue has been beaten to death, but you've never made a remotely compelling case on your side. This statement here is just silly, because again, there are plenty of things we can't prove with 100% certainty, but which still allow us to build reliable and predictable models.

I know that your argument at it's base is that it's arrogant to think that man can change the weather/climate in any dramatic way. You would probably be right to say that the earth is flexible, adjustable, and can rebound from almost anything man throws at it. However, that completely ignores the fact that the environmental conditions which humans need to live in, are relatively narrow. So it wouldn't take a major change to affect human beings. The earth will go on, but that doesn't mean it will go on in a way conducive to human beings.

The evidence for human induced change crosses so many fields of study now, fields that are completely unrelated, areas of study that have nothing to gain or lose from findings of global warming or findings that it doesn't exist--to claim it's all just some sort of left-wing conspiracy is, without trying to be rude, just silly.

There may well be exaggeration or fearmongering where there is a buck to be made. There are many more bucks to be made by asserting that there is no climate change.

I've been around the block on this, and most people who post on these threads have almost no background in science, and reference their arguments to web sites with dubious financial support.

EDIT: I see you clarified your point that there is climate change, but it just can't be proven to be man made. I still stick by my arguments, with the qualification that while it's possible some of it is cyclical, there is in fact evidence that human behavior is a contributing factor.

 

[buzd]

That is what I thought until reading the suit was filed in San Fransisco. It wouldn't be surprising to see them win in San Fransisco before it gets thrown out by the Supreme Court.

It was filed in San Francisco because that's where the ninth (?!) circuit court is located, which would cover Alaska.

That said, I agree with you - they're known for making all sorts of wacky rulings that are later tossed out.