Pirate's Cove

Weirdly, there is nothing in the lawsuit about the state giving up their own use of fossil fuels, nor for the Attorney General of Maine. And Democrats wonder why Trump won

Maine attorney general files lawsuit against oil companies over climate change

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey announced Tuesday that he has filed a lawsuit in state court against a handful of major oil companies because he claims they have been deceiving Maine residents for decades about the role their fossil fuel products played in causing climate change.

The defendants listed in the lawsuit include BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Sunoco, as well as the American Petroleum Institute, the national trade association that represents all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry.

Frey said the state of Maine is seeking to hold the companies accountable for failing to warn Mainers and concealing their knowledge about the devastating consequences of the increasing use of fossil fuels on the state’s people, economy and environment.

The lawsuit claims the defendants knew about the potentially catastrophic consequences an increasing use of fossil fuels would cause as early the 1960s, but decided to deploy strategic public relations campaigns designed to discredit the scientific consensus on climate change, create doubt in the minds of the public and delay the energy economy’s transition to a lower-carbon future. According to the state, this conduct has resulted in enormous financial burdens, public health impacts, property damage and other harms across Maine as a result of extreme weather, rising sea levels and warmer temperatures.

“For over half a century, these companies chose to fuel profits instead of following their own science to prevent what are now likely irreversible, catastrophic climate effects,” Frey said in a statement. “In so doing, they burdened the state and our citizens with the consequences of their greed and deception.”

The suit, weirdly, isn’t asking the companies to stop selling their products in Maine, particularly to the state of Maine, they just want money. It sure would be fun if the companies refused to sell their products to the state. It would not be fun for the residents of Maine if they could no longer get heating oil, natural gas, etc, since so many rely on it.