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LEGAL GROUP TO JOIN COLORADO "GLOBAL WARMING" SUITJuly 12, 2011 - For Immediate Release
DENVER, CO. A Colorado nonprofit, public-interest legal foundation today moved to intervene as a party defendant in a lawsuit filed by various individuals and an environmental group demanding that the State of Colorado and its agencies impose carbon emission limits to prevent global warming. Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF), on behalf of its members across the country, but especially throughout Colorado, asked that it be allowed to intervene as of right to protect the interests of its Colorado members. MSLF argues that the relief sought by the plaintiffs demands a heretofore unknown use of the “public trust doctrine” to limit emissions of carbon dioxide, which will adversely affect the ability of MSLF’s Colorado members to engage in economic activities—such as development of minerals, oil and gas, timber, livestock, and crops—as well as recreational pursuits. “With public support for the fiction of man-made global warming, or climate change, at an all time low, it is little wonder that these plaintiffs are demanding that a Colorado court do what elected leaders refuse to do,” said William Perry Pendley, Esq., MSLF president. “This lawsuit lacks not only a factual basis for proceeding; it seeks a use of the public trust doctrine that is not only unprecedented but illegitimate.” On May 4, 2011, several individuals and WildEarth Guardians filed a lawsuit against the State of Colorado, the Governor, and a number of state agencies, which was amended on May 20, alleging that the defendants have contributed to global warming by failing to “reduce Colorado’s fair share of annual CO2 emissions, in order to draw down atmospheric CO2 to less than 350 ppm by the end of this century.” The plaintiffs’ single claim for relief is that defendants’ failure to reduce Colorado’s “fair share” of carbon emissions damages the atmosphere and therefore violates the “public trust.” The individual plaintiffs are children and young adults who allege that they will suffer harms if carbon dioxide emissions are not reduced “to less than 350 ppm by the end of this century” and climate change is allowed to continue unabated. They also allege that climate change has increased the bark beetle population, which has in turn harmed their enjoyment of various forests. One plaintiff also alleges that climate change has exacerbated her asthma by worsening air quality and contributing to a longer growing season for allergens. WildEarth Guardians alleges that it has worked to restore water ecosystems, which work will be undone by climate change. MSLF successfully urged the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss a similar federal lawsuit and is now before a federal appellate court asking that it vacate the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) “cap and trade” rule. Mountain States Legal Foundation, created in 1977, is a nonprofit, public-interest legal foundation dedicated to individual liberty, the right to own and use property, limited and ethical government, and the free enterprise system. Its offices are in suburban Denver, Colorado. |
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Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) is a nonprofit,
public interest legal foundation dedicated to individual liberty, the right
to own and use property, limited and ethical government, and economic freedom. It is an Internal Revenue Code 501(c)(3) entity
incorporated in the State of Colorado. Csontributions
to Mountain States Legal Foundation are tax deductible. [Mission] [Press
Releases] [Legal Cases] [Legal
Assistance ] |
