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April 01, 2007
Judge Permits Anti-Overseas-Development Lawsuit To Go Forward, Citing "An Inconvenient Truth" As Legal Precedent
Government for the litigants, by the judges, of the lawsuit:
SAN FRANCISCO --
The least surprising byline of the year. Ninth Circus. Whatev's.
A federal judge has advanced a lawsuit against the government over its funding of overseas projects that environmental groups claim contribute to climate change.
The lawsuit, filed by environmental groups and four U.S. cities, claims that the overseas projects will harm the U.S. environment because the effects of global warming will be felt at home, and seeks to require the same environmental reviews that are required for domestic projects.
The Bush administration had argued last year that the "alleged impacts of global climate change are too remote and speculative" to require the reviews.
But in allowing the lawsuit to proceed, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White on Friday cast doubt on the administration's assertion that disagreements remain about the connection between human activity and climate change. He also cited increased attention on the issue in the news and entertainment media, including Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth."
"It would be difficult for the court to conclude that defendants have created a genuine dispute that (greenhouse gases) do not contribute to global warming," White wrote in his ruling.
The lawsuit names two agencies -- the Overseas Private Investment Corp. and the Export-Import Bank of the United States -- that insure billions of dollars of U.S. investors' money for foreign projects, including power plants that emit greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.
The judge didn't merely rely upon the agitprop of "Inconvenient Truth." He also cited The Day After Tomorrow as well as the leading case from the Fifth Circuit, Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster.
By all means we must protect judicial independence. Otherwise our government might devolve into an actual democracy.
Thanks to PetiteDov.