Fuck it. If the feds won’t act, maybe a bunch of other states will follow California’s lead (h/t Raw Story):
General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and four other automakers were sued by California for making vehicles that contribute to global warming, causing pollution and erosion that costs the state millions of dollars.
The lawsuit filed today in U.S. District Court in Oakland said General Motors, Ford, Toyota Motor Corp., DaimlerChrysler AG, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co., the six largest automakers in the U.S., have created a “public nuisance” by making millions of vehicles that emit huge quantities of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
In the article, Cali AG Bill Lockyer called out both the feds and the automakers for dropping the ball on global warming. If we aren’t going to see meaningful legislation from Congress on emissions reduction anytime soon, perhaps a good old-fashioned legal battle will raise awareness and take the automakers down a peg a la big tobacco.
As you may recall, taking the ciggie producers to court played a crucial role in legitimizing the anti-smoking movement. You may hate that particular crusade, but you have to admit that once the companies were held liable for their product’s failings, it wasn’t too long before citywide bans started popping up and it became less uncool to poo-poo smoking.
Like cigarettes, cars are aggressively marketed as a personality fix. Manhood doubters are ordered to buy F-150s, the nouveau riche are told to show off their status in a new Lexus or BMW, and if you can’t buy a Mac, you should at least get a VW.
Hummer ads are particularly shameful. One shows a man buying health food at the store, hanging his head in shame after he sees another man plunk down obnoxious amounts of meat and beer. The only way he can reclaim his manhood? Rush out and buy a Hummer. GM appears proud of the message of “healthy behavior is for wussies — be a gluttonous pig like a real dude and make the environment your bitch with a Hummer.” They’re flaunting the irresponsibility of their vehicles, and I’m gonna side with CA’s claim in the lawsuit that this vehicle production and promotion represents a “public nuisance.”
But awwww, the companies are just using the best creative sales pitch they can. It’s not their fault the sheep can’t think for themselves. And lawsuits are about as American as Islamofascism.
Except none of that is true. Car companies have hindered or squashed the development of viable electric alternatives, even within their own companies. They’ve also successfully overturned legislation in California requiring them to build electric vehicles. In essence, they’ve denied consumers the opportunity to choose cleaner alternatives. The companies instead have embarked on a decades-long campaign to celebrate individual excess at the direct expense of community good. Americans are hooked.
We have a legal system to provide corrective action when warranted, and any wingnut fuel-guzzlers who cry foul should double and triple check they weren’t clamoring for legal blockades in the Schiavo case or demanding prosecution of all illegal immigrants before they accuse the left of clogging the courts.
A swift litigous kick in the pants has proven to affect change in business practices and cultural expectations. The State of California doesn’t even have to win its suit against the automakers to advance the cause of environmental awareness (though it would certainly help). Just calling car companies assholes in high-profile legal briefs is an excellent first step.
I think it’s a great idea. And the very notion companies hide behind—that companies can’t be held liable if there’s demand for their products—is ridiculous. Car companies wield a sales pitch that would make your average drug dealer feel too pushy. Since we have greater legal sanctions against drug dealers than users, it’s clear that we as a society hold people who provide supply accountable.
It’s terrible that this has to go to court. I never understood why auto manufacturer’s would not sell cleaner cars. You’d think they could make them just as profitable. And it’s not like even the most efficient cars will run on love, we’ll still be buying stuff to make them go and you’d think the current batch of oil companies would get in in the ground floor of whatever that stuff may be.
In summary: Dear corporate masters, I promise that even when I am living a perfectly ‘green’ life, I will still do my part to make you rich. Please give me the options for a more green life.
it’s fantastic that someone’s trying to enforce accountability, but i’m a little hazy as to how this will really help. im no fan of theirs, but at least automobile manufacturers have to ensure for the sake of quality control that they comply with emission norms, however lax. (harley davidson can’t currently get their bikes cleared for export to India because they don’t meet emission norms here).
as long as the american government refuses to sign the kyoto protocol, isn’t any genuine commitment to stop global warming near zero? if i remember right, USA is responsible for around 17% of all greenhouse gas emissions. – the single largest contributor in the world, as a matter of fact.
kyso,
it’s been said that the gas engine is much more fragile and requires much more maintenance/repair than the engines GM put in its EV cars, for example, so the car companies can make a lot more off parts replacements by keep gas cars on the road. also, if your car doesn’t break down as often, it probably last longer, meaning you need fewer new cars over, say, a 10 year period. if that’s true, they probably do have a strong financial incentive to keep us in the status quo.
m.,
i feel you, but i do believe that litigation like this could still force car companies to begin to provide alternatives and may pave the way for the kind of cultural mindset shift we need to join kyoto.
M, the government isn’t an undifferientiated entity. The Bush administration is behind the refusal to sign the Kyoto Treaty. If Gore was President, it would be signed. The State of California has its own, separate leaders. Separation of powers is confusing, but this shows why it’s a good thing.
[...] Late 90’s electric car fuck-ups aside, California’s trying to solve the problem. Along with implementing its stricter emissions standards, the state sued automakers for global warming negligence. Those things are nice, but how they’ll make a dent in the air’s smoggy armor remains a bit of a mystery to me. [...]