Groundswell

On May 4th a coordinated set of lawsuits and administrative petitions were filed across the country which assert the States and Federal Government are obligated by the "public trust doctrine" to regulate and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 and methane.

One of these petitions was filed in Nebraska and will be an agenda item on the next Nebraska Environmental Quality Council. It appears the petitions were part of the nationwide effort coordinated by an organization called Our Children's Trust with partnering organizations such as Greenpeace and 350.org.

It's the next evolutionary step of a grassroots effort to push for the regulation and reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions. Last year the 5th District Court agreed to hear a class action law suit case brought by the Hurricane Katrina victims who claimed oil, coal and chemical companies contributed to global warming, increasing the ferocity of the hurricane that damaged their property.

I'm in support of reducing our Greenhouse Gas emissions. I'm also supportive of a grassrooty sort of an uprising. I feel the regulatory process is improved by public participation, but the end result is usually different than where anyone (industry, regulators, politicians, pundits, or the public) would expect. I'm also familiar with how entrenched all sides of this discussion are and I'm interested to see where it all lands.

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Quote of My Day: I have refined my palate for words I will eat later.