As a proponent of serious scientific review of environmental policies, I have been blessed to share news related to climate change with Legal Insurrection readers.
Little did I realize this might have made me a criminal in my home state! Fortunately, it looks like I have dodged a bullet…legally.
California Senate just sidelined a bill to prosecute climate change skeptics.
Senate Bill 1161, or the California Climate Science Truth and Accountability Act of 2016, would have authorized prosecutors to sue fossil fuel companies, think tanks and others that have “deceived or misled the public on the risks of climate change.”The measure, which cleared two Senate committees, provided a four-year window in the statute of limitations on violations of the state’s Unfair Competition Law, allowing legal action to be brought until Jan. 1 on charges of climate change “fraud” extending back indefinitely.“This bill explicitly authorizes district attorneys and the Attorney General to pursue UCL claims alleging that a business or organization has directly or indirectly engaged in unfair competition with respect to scientific evidence regarding the existence, extent, or current or future impacts of anthropogenic induced climate change,” said the state Senate Rules Committee’s floor analysis of the bill.
If there is a “Hall of Infamy” for proposed laws, this bill should take pride-of-place in the science wing. A snippet reveals that the justification for this measure is based on the false “consensus” assertion and is also derived from the questionable science policies implemented by Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency:
(1) There is broad scientific consensus that anthropogenic global warming is occurring and changing the world’s climate patterns, and that the primary cause is the emission of greenhouse gases from the production and combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas.(2) The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) states that the buildup of atmospheric greenhouse gases results in impacts that include the following:(A) Changing temperature and precipitation patterns.(B) Increases in ocean temperatures, sea level, and acidity.(C) Melting of glaciers and sea ice.(D) Changes in the frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme weather events.(E) Shifts in ecosystem characteristics, such as the length of the growing season, timing of flower blooms, and migration of birds.(F) Increased threats to human health.
The measure seems to correspond with the attacks being made by the group spear-headed by former Vice President Al Gore, Attorneys General United for Clean Power. This group includes our state’s own Kamala Harris, and is focused on prosecuting Big Oil for alleged misuse of climate data it gathered.
“Combined with the plans laid by California Attorney General Kamala Harris — part of the alliance of AGs that has sought to investigate not only oil, gas, and coal companies, but private advocacy groups and university scientists who have played a role in what is characterized as ‘climate denial’— the bill would begin laying the legal groundwork for an astonishingly broad campaign of inquisition and, potentially, expropriation,” Mr. Olson said in a May 31 post.
I was curious as to which of our state senators thought suppressing my First Amendment rights was more important than addressing more pressing, and real, issues. I would like to introduce you to Senator Ben Allen of the 26th District representing a bastion of deep blue liberalism, Santa Monica.
Californians who would like to share their views with Allen can CLICK HERE.
I just sent Allen a note inquiring if his next legislative proposal was for re-instituting burning at the stake for heretics such as myself.
Personally, I would like to propose that the First Amendment be placed on the “Endangered Species” list…at least in this state.
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