XPost: talk.environment, law.court.federal, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: noreply@dirge.harmsk.com   
      
   WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday that it   
   will hear from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to   
   hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to   
   climate change.   
      
   The conservative-majority court agreed to take up a case from Boulder,   
   Colorado, among a series of lawsuits alleging the companies deceived the   
   public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change.   
      
   Governments around the country have sought damages totaling billions of   
   dollars, arguing it's necessary to help pay for rebuilding after   
   wildfires, rising sea levels and severe storms worsened by climate   
   change. The lawsuits come amid a wave of legal actions in states   
   including California, Hawaii and New Jersey and worldwide seeking to   
   leverage action through the courts.   
      
   Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil appealed to the Supreme Court after   
   Colorado’s highest court let the Boulder case proceed. The companies   
   argue emissions are a national issue that should be heard in federal   
   court, where similar suits have been tossed out.   
      
   “The use of state law to address global climate change represents a   
   serious threat to one of our Nation’s most critical sectors,” attorneys   
   wrote.   
      
   President Donald Trump's administration weighed in to support the   
   companies and urge the justices to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court   
   decision, saying it would mean “every locality in the country could sue   
   essentially anyone in the world for contributing to global climate   
   change.”   
      
   Trump, a Republican, has criticized the lawsuits in an executive order,   
   and the Justice Department has sought to head some off in court.   
      
   Attorneys for Boulder had agued that the litigation is still in early   
   stages and should stay in state court. “There is no constitutional bar   
   to states addressing in-state harms caused by out-of-state conduct, be   
   it the negligent design of an automobile or sale of asbestos,” they   
   wrote.   
      
   https://abcnews.com/US/wireStory/supreme-court-agrees-hear-oil-gas-compan   
   ies-block-130411487   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)