Monday, January 15, 2018

Exxon Should Sue New York City

... because it would make a lot more sense than this.
The New York City government is suing the world’s five largest publicly traded oil companies, seeking to hold them responsible for present and future damage to the city from climate change.

The suit, filed Tuesday against BP, Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, claims the companies together produced 11 percent of all of global-warming gases through the oil and gas products they have sold over the years. It also charges that the companies and the industry they are part of have known for some time about the consequences but sought to obscure them.
This has all kinds of problems. It would make a lot more sense for Exxon to sue them.

For one thing, Exxon just delivers the raw materials. As such, they contribute hardly anything to Global Warming Climate Change. If New Yorkers just left them in the gas station holding tanks, everything would be fine, but no, they have to deliberately pump them into their cars and then they drive around, on purpose, converting perfectly innocent hydrocarbons into CO2.

If I'm attacked by a knife-wielding maniac, can I sue Cutco for making the knife? I don't think so. It is the act which is criminal, not the weapon.

Second, who has more ability to influence the population? Is it Exxon with it's anodyne commercials during sporting events which, if they mention Global Warming Climate Change at all, make an effort to talk about how they are fighting it? Or is it the City of New York which runs public education and fills students' heads with whatever mush the prog activists are ranting about today? I'm going with the City of New York.

According to the National Council for Education Statistics, the average school day is 6.64 hours long and the average school year is 180 days. From Kindergarten to High School graduation is 13 years. That works out to 15,537.6 hours spend listening to propaganda from the City of New York or, more relevantly, 932,256 minutes.

Imagine the cost of buying that much air time to compete with the city's indoctrination campaigns. Preposterous.

I'm not even going to bother with the low-hanging fruit of the city's use of petroleum products in their various vehicle fleets. That's so obvious that it's not worthwhile.

There ought to be a countersuit in here somewhere, if for nothing else than for bringing a nuisance lawsuit against the oil companies.

After Exxon sued New York City into bankruptcy, many union members found themselves without jobs, pensions and opportunities for graft. That development was met with vigorous disapproval.

2 comments:

Ohioan@Heart said...

A few cities her in San Diego also just sued Exxon. According to a story in the San Diego Union-Tribunes this past Thursday, Exxon has filed paperwork claiming that the cities failed to disclose any risks when they offer bonds and are preparing a vigorous defense and possibly a counter suit.

Anonymous said...

I think Exxon, Chevron, BP, and in fact all other oil companies should tell NY that while they disagree with their lawsuit, that they will terminate all oil, gasoline and NG sales and remove all of their products from any and all storage facilities within the State of New York until the lawsuit judgment is final through all appeal courts of the US.