California Sues Automakers

California's Office of the Attorney General is launching a lawsuit against six automakers for contributing to smog and greenhouse gases. Here's what the AG says:

"Global warming is causing significant harm to California's environment, economy, agriculture and public health. The impacts are already costing millions of dollars and the price tag is increasing," said Lockyer. Vehicle emissions are the single most rapidly growing source of the carbon emissions contributing to global warming, yet the federal government and automakers have refused to act. It is time to hold these companies responsible for their contribution to this crisis."

Why doesn't the Ontario provincial government do the same since the government pays billions of dollars in health care, which a good chunk goes to respiratory diseases and other offshoots?

Ontario doesn't because it doesn't care about protecting the public as much as it cares about protecting the auto industry.

As I always said if they could put a man on the moon, they can make cars without emissions.

But the problem isn't with the ability to make the cars; it's with the mentality of the auto industry itself as well the unions that try to protect the jobs within. I've heard the rumblings of CAW members that they don't want to make emission free cars because it will mean lost jobs.

Well, I don't put much weight into auto union rhetoric since they base their bullying tactics on propaganda, which usually means BS. If hybrid cars are popular and they can make them cheaper the better the technology gets then people will love to buy them.

We are actually fortunate here because we do have stronger emission controls than other countries. When I visited Morocco there were no emission controls on the cars. Sitting at a red light there gets you a good gust of exhaust in your face.

The only thing that doesn't really make their emissions an issue is that the rest of the country doesn't have big smoke stacks spewing crud into the rest of the Moroccan air. It was incredibly clean and I didn't have the usual sneezing, itchy ears and swollen glands, like I got two days after I arrived back to Canada.