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Hypocrisy Runs Rampant in California Climate Case

Posted on Thursday, April 11, 2019
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by Outside Contributor
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43 Comments
California flag liberal state democrat free speech left climate sanctuary crimes war citizenship

Time is running out for Oakland and San Francisco politicians who are desperately trying to salvage their failing bid to grab billions of dollars from oil companies, including Exxon, Chevron, BP and Conoco Phillips. Their meritless lawsuit was dismissed and now their case hinges on an appeal.

“If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts,” Carl Sandburg said. “If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell,” he famously quipped.

Their lawsuit maintains that those companies alone are responsible for climate change that could, they theorize, damage sea walls and swamp sewer systems. As U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup summed it up prior to dismissal, “You’re asking for billions of dollars for something that hasn’t happened yet and may never happen to the extent you’re predicting it will happen.”

That’s a remarkable statement considering the judge is a Clinton appointee in San Francisco.

Absent any legal basis, the municipalities are desperately attempting to “pound the table” to get the dismissal reversed. While they have failed to make their case in court, they have succeeded in getting amicus (or “friend of the court”) briefs filed on their behalf by the usual “who’s who” among activist fringe groups and liberal politicians urging that the case be reinstated, most of whom are in the pockets of leftist billionaires like George Soros and Tom Steyer.

An amicus brief filed by senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Diane Feinstein, Richard Blumenthal, Mazie Hirono, Ed Markey and Kamala Harris argues that the defendants spend a lot of money lobbying Congress to oppose climate change regulation, both directly and through trade associations such as the Chamber of Commerce. Their brief reasons that the court should therefore not accept the defendants’ request to leave climate change to the political branches because defendants, apparently, have been successful with getting their way with the political branches.

The document also rails against energy CEOs flying to Davos on private jets despite the fact that their climate-hawk colleague Sen. Bernie Sanders spent $342,000 on private jet travel since the last presidential election. But the cherry on the hypocrisy cake has to go to Feinstein of the Judge Brett Kavanaugh nomination debacle fame, the only amicus brief signatory who was in the Senate in 1997 when it voted 95-0 on a resolution against the international climate change treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol. Feinstein was one of only five senators who didn’t find the matter important enough to vote on it. This behavior is about as sincere as Senate proponents of the Green New Deal voting “present” instead of voting in favor of it.

Sincerity has never been a strong suit among the plaintiffs. In its lawsuit, Oakland warned of “ongoing and increasingly severe sea level rise,” which is projected to have up to “66 inches of sea level rise by 2100” and flooding damage to sewer systems with a “total replacement cost of between $22 billion and $38 billion.”

But its municipal bond disclosure paints a sharply contrasting rosy picture stating, “The City is unable to predict when seismic events, fires or other natural events, such as sea rise or other impacts of climate change or flooding from a major storm, could occur, when they may occur, and, if any such events occur, whether they will have a material adverse effect on the business operations or financial condition of the City or the local economy.”

San Francisco’s bond disclosure is a near cookie cutter copy of nonchalance while its lawsuit is specific with a dire warning that “nearer-term risks include 0.3 to as much as 0.8 feet of additional sea level rise by 2030” and damage cost estimates of $5 billion.

Olympic medal-worthy hypocrisy aside, the appeal to overturn the dismissal will ultimately center around the question of whether climate change matters should rightfully be decided by one judge’s opinion, or whether federal law prescribes that climate change policy be determined within the halls of Congress and the White House.

All the table pounding in the world will not change the fact that, in 2011 in the 8-0 American Electric Power v. Connecticut decision, the court ruled that corporations cannot be sued for greenhouse gas emissions because the Clean Air Act specifically deposits that regulatory authority into the hands of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The plaintiffs may “yell like hell,” but their hypocrisy cannot only be heard but also seen in how they continue to depend on gasoline and oil in their daily lives. Perhaps they should focus more on reducing their own carbon footprints instead of seeking “jackpot justice” to fill the holes in their poorly managed municipal budgets.

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Jeff Shull
Jeff Shull
4 years ago

Wha,whah,whah. Poor babies they didn’t get there world social reparations checks. Poor babies.

Dennis Weber
Dennis Weber
4 years ago

It would be funny if those targeted industries stopped doing business in Kalifornia. I wouldn’t b;ame them.

Bob
Bob
4 years ago

Climate changes have occurred naturally over millions of years. Socialists are only blaming Republicans for it because they can. Socialists need to stop constantly lying to get their own way, they are just screaming babies.

ripcon
ripcon
4 years ago

very good article Craig, I enjoyed very much. But i can only take so much of the lefts ding dong thinking. Please understand that I do not want to stop. Keep up the good work, one of those fruit loops could read this and learn something and the whole world will change. RIGHT

Cliff
Cliff
4 years ago

Climate change is a hoax… only God controls the universe, when are those idiots going to change, MOST LIKELY NEVER, if they are so bent on this then don’t give them any gas or electric for a at least a year.. I bet they will rethink all this,..but on the other hand they are to self absorbed in all this non sense

Drue
Drue
4 years ago

There they go again! The Libtard Democrats are crying over milk that has not even been delivered let alone been spilt. Good luck with that, buccos. They refuse to see problems right in their streets but will pound on the wailing wall for compensation for things that have not even happened and will probably not happen. Hey, swamp rats: Solve the homeless problem, clean up the poop and pee on your streets, deport the illegal aliens and start doing your job!

melody
melody
4 years ago

Shock at the Pump! California’s governor Gavin Newsom recently raised the taxes on gasoline from around $3.89 per gallon to $4.39 or more. Californians already pay the highest tax rate in the nation. That’s a about a.50 cent per gallon increase. My guess is that the swampy lefty establishment is running low on moolah to finance their wicked selfish schemes. This makes the cost of transport go up which raises the prices on everything. They are robbing the working families, the low income people and the elderly who are trying to “make do”. Help Make California Great Again!

Rita
Rita
4 years ago

Well said! When will this Country wake up and smell the stink spread by this party?!

Lloyd1954
Lloyd1954
4 years ago

All Liberal Arts majors and none have the intellect to discuss climatology much less recommend to a court how the court should look that the subject. Actually think this is a Democratic scheme to further their Eugenics policies and reduce the amount of poor and middle class in the country by pricing life out of their reach.

Alan
Alan
4 years ago

“66 inches of sea level rise by 2100”
Sell your shore front and move to the mountains. Oh, wait, you are not allowed to cut down trees for a place to build a house. Buy scuba gear instead.

matt soyka
matt soyka
4 years ago

Actually there is no statistical correlation between temperature of the earth and CO2 levels in the atmosphere. There is a very strong statistical correlation between the Sun’s activity level and the temperature ( high activity/hotter temps…. low activity cooler temps.). It is anticipated that the Sun’s activity level will decrease over the next 12 years and the ensuing La Nina ( cooling) cycles ( will get stronger) and El Nino (warming) cycles should weaken! I believe the Socialist Nazis are pushing to move fast because if I know this …I’m sure they know this ….they want to be able to CTLP ( ie Convince The Lemmings Population )that their inane accusations and $150T ‘solutions’ made ALL this happen….so that everyone can go…” who needs God we have ‘Boinie’ and AOC”…now all salute to the saviors….Sieg! Heil!

Jan13
Jan13
4 years ago

I think the human droppings have a more negative effect on the cities immediate climate than anything the oil companies have done. Clean up your own backyard before you complain about what others are doing.

Emmett
Emmett
4 years ago

American improvement recommendation: Start deporting liberal politicians to Mexico and watch how quickly Mexico builds the wall. They can’t afford them any more than we can afford them.

Gary
Gary
4 years ago

I’m a simple person. When your wallet runs low you cut out things you cannot afford. California lives in a fantasy world. Make believe world and cries wolf to get more and more. Company’s are leaving because of it.

Martin
Martin
4 years ago

“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed”.
Adolf Hitler
This what these climate control advocates have been doing for years. They have told these lies for so long that they now believe their lies.

EDWIN STEVAK
EDWIN STEVAK
4 years ago

What is the normal temperature of the earth? We have ice ages and warmups through out our billion years of history and now they using 70 years of history to predict the future that doesn’t make since to me.

Gail Coury
Gail Coury
4 years ago

Ridiculous

B, Moore
B, Moore
4 years ago

The solution is for all the oil companies to close up operations and quit selling gasoline and oil related products in these cities. That way they won’t be effecting climate change in there cities. If the oil companies do that lets see how the people react to that. Kind of a deep thought but why not take that approach to appease these cities.

Denise
Denise
4 years ago

Things in the State of California are very sad!!! The government is run by hypocrites and it seems their only concerns are to push agenda that scare their citizens and enable illegals to vote and get many other privileges usually given to citizens only. I live in Illinois which is no model for States to follow either, however, I do think there is a glimmer of hope for our State, not so with California!!!

HAL HOFFMAN
HAL HOFFMAN
4 years ago

OHHHHHHHH “HOCKEY STICKS!!!” ():-)

chas
chas
4 years ago

Certainly only a fool would believe that CO2 is somehow responsible for all of our climate anomalies.

Burton Pauly
Burton Pauly
4 years ago

Let us just accept the fact that the majority of California (Mexifornia) congress persons are rabid when it comes to planet weather. But alas I’m one of the other half of USA society that believes only God can change the weather anywhere in our World. MAGA…..

Stephen Russell
Stephen Russell
4 years ago

Drop the suit, let those cities suffer BIG Time, Hooray, Bravo

Big Al
Big Al
4 years ago

The K Street people are spending a lot of money lobbying how? If the people in Congress had the integrity to represent the constituents that elected them there would be no cause for lobbyist to be there buying them. California has two Senators and fifty-three Representatives but only six have filed the amicus brief. Surely doesn’t reflect the Congressional popular vote for the State. Those that did file the brief aren’t exactly, to put it in the California perspective, the crème d la crème of the elite.

Rick
Rick
4 years ago

California is a perfect example of what happens when the DRUNK, STONED and STUPID
are given control. Time for the Californians who know better, to stand up, take control and
put their state back on the road to safe and sane.

Frank S.
Frank S.
4 years ago

As John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” California is fast running out of other people’s money, so they are becoming ever more desperate for new revenue streams. Please America, wake up and see what decades of irresponsible fiscal policies will bring. They are running out of space to kick the can down the road. This is a microcosm of what America will look like if we don’t change our ways.

Wayne D Peterkin
Wayne D Peterkin
4 years ago

Sadly, hypocrisy abounds throughout the entire Democratic party. And on most topics, not just “climate change”. Only a complete nitwit would think they can control the climate on our planet when they can’t even predict tomorrow’s weather with any accuracy.

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