A federal court Monday threw out California’s lawsuit seeking damages from automakers for causing global warming. California had claimed (with a straight face) that the industry is responsible for the state’s drought, beach erosion, and warmer temperatures. U.S. district judge Martin Jenkins wrote that it is impossible to determine “who should bear the costs associated with the global climate change that admittedly result from multiple sources around the globe.”
Contradicting a federal judge in Vermont who, in a related case last week, ruled that states have the authority to set auto emissions standards, Jenkins wrote that accepting California’s suit would “improperly place this Court into precisely the geopolitical debate more properly assigned” to the feds.
Undeterred, California continues to push its climate jihad on other fronts. Governor Schwarzenegger drafted a new executive order this month that requires oil companies to supply all service stations with E85 ethanol (though it’s always worth noting that E85’s energy-intensive production from corn expends as much or more CO2 than it saves as an auto fuel).