GLOBAL WARMING IN THE COURTS
Judge supports state's rights to limit vehicle emissions

A federal judge ruled on September 12th that states can regulate global warming pollution from passenger vehicles, rejecting automakers’ claims that the rules are pre-empted by federal law and that technology can’t be developed to reduce emissions.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, U.S. District Judge William Sessions said, “History suggests that the ingenuity of the industry, once put in gear, responds admirably to most technological challenges. In light of the public statements of industry representatives, history of compliance with previous technological challenges, and the state of the record, the Court remains unconvinced automakers cannot meet the challenges of Vermont and California’s greenhouse gas regulations.”

Slated to start phasing in as of 2009, the Vermont limits would require a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks by 2016. Several states, including Minnesota and Illinois, are considering similar legislation.

BUSINESS RESPONSE
Investors and officials urge global warming risk disclosures

One of the industries considered most vulnerable to global warming is the insurance industry, as increasingly severe weather threatens property in the nation’s most storm-prone areas. Yet many companies do not mention global warming in their annual financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Nearly two dozen state officials and large investors from Florida, New York, and California, managing more than $1.5 trillion in assets, petitioned the SEC, arguing disclosures related to global warming risks are "inconsistent and inadequate" across industries and need to be improved. California Treasurer Bill Lockyer says in a Wall Street Journal article that full disclosure "is good for business and good for investors." Lockyer believes it will "change investment decisions."

The petition urges the SEC to require firms to inventory their own global warming emissions in addition to analyzing the economic impacts associated with rising sea levels, droughts, floods, and extreme temperatures.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Encourage your elected leaders to get informed, involved

This year’s Nobel Conference, "Heating Up: The Energy Debate," is scheduled for October 2-3 at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. The conference will consider the problems associated with global warming and declining oil reserves, drawing on world-renowned energy and resource experts to put our energy dilemma into perspective and examine new and advancing technologies.

This forum presents a rare opportunity for policymakers to hear firsthand from science and engineering experts, including the director of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, James E. Hansen.

Please contact your elected officials and encourage them to attend the Nobel Conference to hear the latest science and solutions to global warming. Find your elected officials (and their contact information) here.

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Fresh Energy works daily for smart energy policies and regulations that enhance our economies, protect human health and communities, restore our environment, and move us toward energy independence. www.fresh-energy.org