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MLA
09-21-2006, 07:00 AM
I love California. I'm proud to call it my home state!

From CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/09/21/california.cars.reut/index.html):

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

California has also targeted the auto industry with first-in-the-nation rules adopted in 2004 requiring car makers to force cuts in tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks.

Automakers, however, have so far blocked those rules with their own legal action -- prompting one analyst to say California's lawsuit represents a way for California to pressure car manufacturers to accept the rules.

"That's the objective," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, a nonprofit organization that provides public research and forecasts about the industry.

"They want to get the automakers basically to bow down and pay homage to the (emissions) law."

jnettie
09-21-2006, 10:26 AM
Automakers, however, have so far blocked those rules with their own legal action -- prompting one analyst to say California's lawsuit represents a way for California to pressure car manufacturers to accept the rules.
Uh, yeah! So, they shouldn't have to follow the rules? :rolleyes:

Rosebud
09-23-2006, 12:59 AM
I love it! Whether or not the state can actually be successful in this kind of a lawsuit, it makes a statement about the importance of environmental policy. Car makers can and should make cars that produce fewer emissions. It's time we all put pressure on them to do so. Hopefully, more and more people will also choose cars that consume less gasoline as well.

Sandie78
09-23-2006, 07:00 PM
So is California going to pay the car makers to thank them for all the industry that has flourished in the state that would not have been able to if there were no cars?

If the car makers did something illegal then go ahead sue them. Otherwise I'm a little bit confused.

Rosebud
09-23-2006, 09:00 PM
If the car makers did something illegal then go ahead sue them. Otherwise I'm a little bit confused.

Car makers are refusing to comply with a state law requiring that cars sold in the state of California only produce a certain amount of emissions. That's why California is suing... to force them to comply.

Sandie78
09-23-2006, 09:16 PM
Ok, that makes sense. I missed that.