Re: LETTER: Suing big oil, March 14
This letter is to clarify the information in Scott Burrows’ letter from March 14.
The Sue Big Oil campaign is a B.C.-wide campaign to launch a class action lawsuit for B.C. municipalities attempting to recover some of the climate-related costs incurred by the world’s largest fossil fuel producers.
This action in B.C. parallels that of California along with more than two dozen cities and states in the U.S. In B.C., the “brave crusaders” are groups of volunteers working across the province, currently with support from the municipalities of Squamish, Gibsons, Qualicum Beach, View Royal, and most recently the Village of Slocan. These citizens are trying to find a way to recover tax dollars, including those of Mr. Burrows, that are going towards costly climate mitigation work, like expanded water systems and storm drains.
The wealth of information about the connection between burning fossil fuels and climate change is a click away. Exxon-Mobil knew in the early 1980s that burning fossil fuels could destabilize the global climate, but chose instead to publicly sow uncertainty and doubt through misinformation. John Vaillant’s book Fire Weather provides an extensive chronology on the development of our understanding of the role played by greenhouse gases in affecting the climate.
This is why the Sue Big Oil initiative has a single focus. The suggestion that these “brave crusaders” should also sue pharmaceutical companies, liquor and tobacco companies, China etc. is disingenuous at best, and fails to understand the concept of the climate disruption we are all experiencing and paying the price of.
To learn more, please visit suebigoil.ca.
Greg Amos
Co-ordinator, Sue Big Oil West Kootenay
Nelson