Unum
2018-12-04 17:45:14 UTC
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/12/04/671996313/fishermen-sue-big-oil-for-its-role-in-climate-change
While oil companies built seawalls and elevated their oil rigs to protect
critical production infrastructure from the rising sea level, they concealed
from the public the knowledge that burning fossil fuels could have
catastrophic impacts on the biosphere.
The fishermen's lawsuit appears to be the first time food producers have sued
the fossil fuel industry for allegedly harming the environment.
The lawsuit, filed in California's Superior Court, San Francisco county,
chronicles the fossil fuel industry's alleged role in obfuscating the likely
global effects of climate change and demands compensation from companies
including Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell Oil.
The crabbers' lawsuit comes amidst a string of court actions by cities against
the oil industry. In July, the mayor and city council of Baltimore filed suit
against 26 companies, alleging they knew but hid from the public the dangers
of fossil fuels.
Information uncovered by reporters recently suggests that oil, gas and coal
interests knew for decades that they were essentially facilitating the
alteration of the Earth to build their own industries. As outlined in a recent
New Yorker article by Bill McKibben, these companies promoted public relations
schemes to misinform the public, discouraged the development of alternative
energy sources, and even advertised the notion that more CO2 in the atmosphere
could promote plant growth and global crop yields.
While oil companies built seawalls and elevated their oil rigs to protect
critical production infrastructure from the rising sea level, they concealed
from the public the knowledge that burning fossil fuels could have
catastrophic impacts on the biosphere.
The fishermen's lawsuit appears to be the first time food producers have sued
the fossil fuel industry for allegedly harming the environment.
The lawsuit, filed in California's Superior Court, San Francisco county,
chronicles the fossil fuel industry's alleged role in obfuscating the likely
global effects of climate change and demands compensation from companies
including Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell Oil.
The crabbers' lawsuit comes amidst a string of court actions by cities against
the oil industry. In July, the mayor and city council of Baltimore filed suit
against 26 companies, alleging they knew but hid from the public the dangers
of fossil fuels.
Information uncovered by reporters recently suggests that oil, gas and coal
interests knew for decades that they were essentially facilitating the
alteration of the Earth to build their own industries. As outlined in a recent
New Yorker article by Bill McKibben, these companies promoted public relations
schemes to misinform the public, discouraged the development of alternative
energy sources, and even advertised the notion that more CO2 in the atmosphere
could promote plant growth and global crop yields.