EPA Chief Scott Pruitt still won't say if President Trump believes climate change is a hoax
There were no test tubes or Bunsen burners, but a courtroom turned into a
science classroom Wednesday for a U.S. judge considering lawsuits that
accuse big oil companies of lying about the role of fossil fuels in the
Earth's warming environment.
Leading researchers taught U.S. District Judge William Alsup the basic science of climate change
at the unusual court hearing after he asked lawyers for two California
cities and five of the world's largest oil and gas companies to present
"the best science now available on global warming."
He cautioned at the start of the hearing against expecting "fireworks"
and said he wanted to avoid politics and "stick to the science."
"This is a serious proposition to try to educate the judge," Alsup said.
What he got at the end of the nearly five-hour hearing was a primer on
the history of climate change research, carbon dioxide's role as a
greenhouse gas, melting ice caps, rising sea levels and extreme weather.
His teachers included Myles Allen, a professor at the University of
Oxford who studies human influences on climate, and Don Wuebbles, an
expert in atmospheric science at the University of Illinois who
co-authored a 2017 U.S. government report on climate change.
An attorney for Chevron, Theodore Boutrous, also presented, saying the
oil giant does not dispute the findings of an international panel of
scientists that it is extremely likely people are the dominant cause of
global warming since the mid-1900s.
But he pointed out how thinking about global warming has evolved and
said the company does not agree with all proposals in place to deal with
it.
"The notion that we know today of a dynamic changing climate is relatively new in human understanding," he said.
Alsup interrupted Boutrous and the scientists to ask about the climate
on Mars, what caused the ice age and whether the ozone layer has a role
in the warming and cooling of the planet, among other questions.
He is considering two lawsuits, one by San Francisco and the other by neighboring Oakland, that accuse Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, BP and Royal Dutch Shell
of long knowing that fossil fuels posed serious risks to the climate,
but still promoting them as environmentally responsible. They also
allege the companies mounted campaigns to downplay the risks of global
warming and discredit research that human activity was to blame.
The companies have asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuits. Federal law
controls fossil fuel production, and Congress has encouraged oil and gas
development, they said in court documents. They say the harm the cities
claim is "speculative" and part of a complex chain of events that
includes billions of oil and gas users and "environmental phenomena
occurring worldwide over many decades."
Legal observers said they had never heard of a court holding a tutorial
on climate change, and they were eager to see how the oil companies
explained global warming.
None of the other companies spoke. Alsup told their attorneys that he
wanted them to file documents indicating whether they disagreed with
what Chevron's attorney said.
"You can't get away with sitting there in silence and later say he wasn't speaking for us," the judge said.
The lawsuits say the companies have created a public nuisance and should
pay for sea walls and other infrastructure to protect against the
effects of climate change — construction that could cost billions of
dollars.
New York City, several California counties and at least one other California city have filed similar suits.
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said the hearing showed the science on climate change was "clear."
"What we saw today was one oil company begrudgingly accept the
scientific consensus while trying to overemphasize the extent of
scientific uncertainty," he said in a statement.
Links
Links
- New York City is suing big oil for global warming
- Patterns of Climate Change Litigation During Trump Era
- Landmark Case Challenges Land Clearing Based On Climate Change Impact
- US Government Can Be Sued By Children Over Climate Change: Court
- Seven Climate Change Myths That Big Oil Continues To Perpetuate
- Why The World Is Looking To The Philippines For Climate Justice
- Environmental Activists Are Suing Governments Over Climate Change — And Winning
- 'Sloppy And Careless': Courts Call Out Trump Blitzkrieg On Environmental Rules
- If Climate Change Wrecks Your City, Can It Sue Exxon?
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