Things aren't going well at all for climate change activists: Despite hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars spent on green energy over the past decade, the world and the United States used more fossil fuels last year than at any other time in history.
Electric vehicle movement is stagnating, while solar and wind power remain Heretical Forms of Energyand the Green candidate Crushed Recent elections in Europe have shown that voters are fed up with the rising prices that come with environmental policies. (Related article: David Blackmon: Supreme Court strikes brutal blow to perpetual bureaucracy)
Having failed at the ballot box, consumers, businesses and environmental groups are now turning to the courts. The climate-industrial complex is teaming up with its trial lawyers to advance the fight against fossil fuels.
One of the most absurd lawsuits took place in Hawaii.
There was a group of 13 young people there, and to be honest, I'm not making this up. Sued the Hawaiian government Hawaii is suing China over fossil fuel use. Environmental law firms Our Children's Trust and Earthjustice argue that Hawaii's natural resources are at risk from CO2 emissions. Even if that's true, shouldn't they be suing China instead?
settlement You will need The state has committed to eliminating fossil fuels from its transportation system by 2045 and has also formalized the right to sue other parties in the future.
Democratic Gov. Josh Green stood next to the young plaintiffs, Assertive statement“This settlement demonstrates how we can best move forward as a state to achieve our pro-life goals.”
There's a lot wrong with this ruling. How did the teenagers have a right to sue? How were they harmed by fossil fuels?
Ironically, this Pacific island paradise, whose main industry is tourism, would collapse without fossil fuels. If jet planes and cruise ships are banned, will tourists and business travelers have to arrive by sailboat?
But this new approach to using litigation to further the anti-fossil fuel movement is spreading to other states. The judge handed down the sentence Republican-majority Montana violated its state constitution by approving fossil fuel projects without considering climate change.
After the recent floods VermontEnvironmentalists have sued the state for not phaseing out fossil fuels.
Massachusetts A lawsuit is being filed ExxonMobil against severe weather.
There are currently 32 cases Submitted by State attorneys general, cities, counties and tribal nations have filed lawsuits against companies including ExxonMobil, BP and Shell, alleging that the industries have tried to undermine scientific consensus about the crisis.
Like the tobacco cases two decades ago, what's so scary about these sham lawsuits by lawyers hoping to turn oil companies into cash cows is that the outcome of lawsuits against states and oil and gas companies over energy use or production for environmental damage could bring about the phase-out of fossil fuels through the back door of our nation's courts.
But none of these judges or litigators take into account the devastating economic effects of going fossil fuel-free. For example, the left wants to get rid of air conditioners, but air conditioners require electricity that comes primarily from fossil fuels. But air conditioners save tens of thousands of lives a year. Without fossil fuels, would millions of jobs be lost? Without fossil fuel power plants, would thousands of Americans die in hospitals, nursing homes, day care centers, and schools?
Fossil fuels have saved more lives than they have taken over the past century. Fossil fuels make Americans richer, safer, happier, healthier, and more mobile. Meanwhile, there is no evidence to support a teenager's absurd claim that the state's weather conditions would improve if Hawaii stopped using fossil fuels.
Will that be taken into consideration by a judge who seeks to strip Exxon and coal companies of their profits for the crime of improving life on earth?
Stephen Moore is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and senior economic advisor to Donald Trump. His latest book is Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy.
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