Pirate's Cove

Some of us may remember when Rolling Stone used to be for a small government. For government that stayed out of our lives and didn’t try to force us to do stuff. How times have changed

Trump Tries to Make Sure States Don’t Fight Climate Change Either

If you’re one of those gambling addicts placing bets on every imaginable future scenario that could befall this nation, and you’ve bet on it facing a maximum climate catastrophe, you’ve got a friend in the Trump administration.

When President Donald Trump took office earlier this year, climate advocates were confident that while the federal government would certainly no longer be tackling the issue of climate change, states would help pick up some of the slack. There was a sense of hope in that — at least some of this vital work would continue. This prospect has recently been put into question, because the Trump administration is now trying to prevent states from doing much of anything to limit the impacts of climate change.

The Department of Justice is currently suing the states of New York and Vermont to stop them from enforcing laws passed last year that would make fossil fuel companies liable for some of the costs of dealing with climate change. It is also suing Hawaii and Michigan over their climate-related lawsuits against fossil fuel companies. Finally, the Trump administration is working to end California’s stringent motor vehicle emissions standards and its cap-and-trade program. (Republicans in the Senate recently moved to end Califonria’s vehicle emission standards.)

All those states are doing things that affect out of state companies and other states.

Moffa says the Trump administration appears to be placing itself “on the side of private industry,” and he thinks these actions may have been taken as part of an effort to dissuade other states from pursuing similar legal action.

So, on the side of the private sector and private citizens, not the cultish politicians and bureaucrats.

States are trying to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for how they have contributed to climate change, and the Trump administration is making it clear it will have none of that. The lawsuits and strategies employed by the administration may not be successful, but they clearly create another barrier to acting on climate change. They could also make states more wary about passing new climate laws.

Yeah, well, remember, those same states have refused to give up their own use of fossil fuels for operation, especially the politicians. Also remember that a NJ Superior Court judge has already thrown out a suit “because Plaintiffs seek damages for alleged harms caused by interstate and international emissions and global warming, their claims cannot be governed by state law. Under our federal constitutional system, states cannot use their laws to resolve claims seeking redress for injuries allegedly caused by out-of-state and worldwide emissions.” So, Trump has every legal authority to stop states from doing their wacky cult stuff.