Feature story - August 25, 2005
We’ve seen our fair share of courtrooms over the past 34 years, but we’re actually looking forward to our next appearance. That’s because this time - in a rare twist of events - we’re the plaintiffs! And we can’t wait to point our finger at the defendant’s table, where some very big players in the federal government will be sitting.
The Bush administration is licking its wounds after a federal judge allowed a groundbreaking lawsuit to proceed. In 2002, we teamed up with Friends of the Earth and the city of Boulder, Colorado to charge two government agencies with using taxpayer money to finance global warming projects.
Turning Up the Heat on the Government
Federal government agencies funded fossil fuel projects to the tune of $32 billion. These agencies violated federal laws by failing to assess impacts to the U.S. environment of all funded projects.
These projects cause climate change and U.S. citizens are feeling the effects. Global warming is one of the most serious environmental issues we face today. Its impacts are severe and include extreme weather events like hurricanes and droughts, and the spread of infectious disease.
This lawsuit is not in the traditional style of most Greenpeace protests, but we're hoping it will push the U.S. government to do what many state and local governments are already doing - take immediate and effective action to prevent global warming.
A First Time for Everything
On August 23, a federal judge denied the government's motion and is allowing this unprecedented case to continue. The landmark decision is the first time that a federal court has granted legal standing for a lawsuit challenging the federal government's failure to evaluate the impacts of its actions on the Earth's climate and U.S. citizens. Keep an eye out for updates as this lawsuit heads to trial.