Pirate's Cove

And big companies like Exxon usually have better and smarter lawyers on their payroll than most cities

(Forbes) Some government officials in California are hypocrites pushing a political agenda that involves using private lawyers to sue and demonize ExxonMobil, the company is now arguing in a Texas state court.

On Jan. 8, Exxon took the first step towards suing those who orchestrated climate change lawsuits in California by asking the Tarrant County District Court to allow it to question an assortment of government officials and a Hagens Berman lawyer. The company says those local officials are talking out of both sides of their mouths – blaming Exxon for an impending flooding disaster while not disclosing that alleged threat to possible investors in their bond offerings.

In 2017, the counties of Marin, Santa Cruz and San Mateo and the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz and Imperial Beach filed suit against dozens of energy companies, including Exxon and 17 other Texas-based businesses, over climate change. The company has previously been targeted by the attorneys general of Massachusetts and New York.

“It is reasonable to infer that the municipalities brought these lawsuits not because of a bona fide belief in any tortious conduct by the defendants or actual damage to their jurisdictions, but instead to coerce ExxonMobil and others operating in the Texas energy sector to adopt policies aligned with those favored by local politicians in California,” attorneys for the company wrote.

I still think the better option would have been for Exxon and the other fossil fuels companies to say “OK, fine, have it your way, we’re pulling our operations out of these areas.” They could have helped gas station owners and such with building new facilities in surrounding cities, which would mean a massive loss in tax money as people travel outside the city to purchase. Realistically, there’s only so much they could build, since other cities would already have gas stations. Still, if cities want to sue, pull out. Let their citizens deal with having no place close to purchase gas.

And, more importantly, refuse to sell fuels to the city governments. Let’s see how well they operate police cars, garbage trucks, recycling trucks, inspectors, etc and so forth, without fossil fuels.

San Mateo County’s complaint says it is “particularly vulnerable to sea level rise” and that there is a 93% chance the county experiences a “devastating” flood before 2050. However, bond offerings in 2014 and 2016 noted that the county “is unable to predict whether sea-level rise or other impacts of climate change or flooding from a major storm will occur”;

What this really is all about is a virtue signaling shakedown of fossil fuels companies, something that most of these cities refuse to give up in the first place. Make sure to read the rest.