Climate lawsuits may surge if humans blamed

OSLO (Reuters) – A 2007 U.N. report with stronger evidence that humans are causing global warming is likely to spur more lawsuits around the world such as a case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, a legal expert said.

Lawsuits from Australia to California are already testing how far courts agree with most scientists’ view that human activities — led by burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and vehicles — are warming the planet.

“We’re going to get more and more of these cases,” Peter Roderick, director of the Climate Justice Program which is linked to environmental group Friends of the Earth, told Reuters on Tuesday.

What are we going to do? Sue the government or individual users of vehicles since they know they pollute? I know lets all get together and sue Al Gore for driving an SUV or was that his wife Tipper (side note : who the hell names their child after a tonka toy??)

“The stronger the evidence of human influence gets, the more relevant the question will be for courts,” he said. Some lawyers, he said, viewed climate as the next billion-dollar source of litigation after tobacco or asbestos

Well No shit. Human influence has changed the climate? Wouldn’t that be like saying wow the volcanoes and rain forests changed the environment.

In one of the most important U.S. environmental cases in decades, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday over whether a dozen states, three cities and several environmental groups can force the government to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide from cars and trucks.

I thought we already regulated carbon dioxide? Hmmm.. I know.. maybe if we stopped filling zillions of lawsuits we could reduce the amount of trees being smashed into pulp for the paper?? Perhaps we could sue the lawyers for using so much paper in frivolous lawsuits!