Oil company lawsuit to raise pump prices, Newsom’s presidential prospects.
Commentary
Lately, I’ve been dreading the thought of filling up my old, wheezing 2010 Camry. I dream of owning a brand new Tesla worth $110,000, but unfortunately, my salary doesn’t match that of a government official. Plus, my apartment complex doesn’t even have charging stations.
Gas prices have been skyrocketing, and it’s starting to take a toll on my wallet. Just the other day, I went to Costco and had to pay $5.79 per gallon for Premium. Can you believe that? It was only $4.30 back in January. That’s a whopping 35 percent increase in just one year, and it’s only going to get worse.
California Takes on Big Oil
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom have recently filed a lawsuit against the five largest oil companies. They accuse these companies of deceiving the public and causing climate change-related harm in the state. According to Mr. Bonta’s announcement:
“Filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, the complaint asserts that although the companies have known since at least the 1960s that the burning of fossil fuels would warm the planet and change our climate, they denied or downplayed climate change in public statements and marketing. As detailed in the complaint, California has spent tens of billions of dollars to adapt to climate change and address the damages climate change has caused so far, and the state will need to spend multiples of that in the years to come.”
It’s important to note the staggering amount of money involved: “tens of billions of dollars.”
Consumers Will Pay the Price
Let’s be clear about who will ultimately bear the burden of this lawsuit. As Governor Newsom surely knows from his own experience as a restaurant owner, companies need to make a profit to survive. When their costs increase, they either pass those expenses on to the customers or risk going out of business. In this case, the added costs will be directly passed on to consumers at the gas pump. And it wouldn’t be surprising if one or more of these oil companies decide to cease operations in California due to the financial strain. This would reduce competition and further drive up gas prices.
The Impact of Senate Bill X1-2
It’s worth mentioning that earlier this year, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill X1-2 into law, establishing the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight. This new bureaucracy aims to control gas prices, but it will only lead to higher costs for companies as they comply with new regulations. As I previously wrote in The Epoch Times, this move seems more like a political strategy to divert attention from California’s already high gas prices, especially if the governor has aspirations for a presidential run. At the time of my article, gas prices had just surpassed $5, and now they’re almost $6.
The Climate Change Debate
The basis of this lawsuit rests on the existence of “climate change” caused by human activities. However, there are dissenting voices challenging the prevailing narrative. Nobel Prize laureate John Clauser, a renowned physicist, has pointed out a key variable that climate models have ignored. He joins over 1,600 professionals in signing the World Climate Declaration, which asserts that there is no “climate emergency” and that climate change science is inconclusive. These experts argue that the Earth’s history shows a consistently changing climate over thousands of years.
It’s interesting to note that while Mr. Clauser is a distinguished physicist, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom come from legal and business backgrounds, respectively.
The Flip from ”Global Warming” to “Climate Change”
It’s worth mentioning that in the mid-2000s, there was a shift in the terminology used to describe environmental concerns. The term ”global warming” was replaced with ”climate change.” This change can be traced back to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signing of Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Coincidentally, this shift occurred around the same time as the release of Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” which turned out to contain misleading information.
Despite the inaccuracies in Gore’s film, he was awarded both a Nobel Prize and an Academy Award. One of his predictions was that glaciers would disappear within 15 years. However, as we’ve seen, those glaciers are still intact.
Political Aspirations and the Cost to Californians
While the lawsuit against oil companies may harm the citizens of California, it serves as a virtue signaling opportunity for two politicians. Attorney General Rob Bonta has expressed his intention to run for governor in 2026, and Governor Gavin Newsom has publicly backed President Joe Biden. However, if Biden were to step down for any reason, Newsom would likely jump at the chance to run for president. In the meantime, their political posturing comes at the expense of Californians, who will end up paying billions of dollars.
It’s important to note that the views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Ry has seen natural fluctuations in climate, and that human activity may not be the primary driver of these changes. Additionally, there are concerns about the reliability and accuracy of climate models, which form the basis of many climate change predictions.
In light of the potential shortcomings of climate models, what alternative methods or approaches can be used to better understand and predict climate changes
There are several alternative methods and approaches that can be used to complement climate models and better understand and predict climate changes. Some of these methods include:
1. Paleoclimate data: By studying past climate records through geological and historical sources, researchers can gain insights into past climate variations. This data can help validate and improve climate models and provide a long-term perspective on climate changes.
2. Satellite observations: Satellite-based measurements provide detailed and real-time data on various climate parameters, such as temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric composition. These observations can validate and update climate models and enhance their accuracy.
3. Field experiments: Conducting large-scale field experiments, such as the collection of atmospheric data, oceanic measurements, or ecosystem observations, allows researchers to directly measure and understand certain aspects of the climate system. Such experiments provide valuable ground-truth data for model calibration and validation.
4. Data assimilation techniques: Data assimilation combines observations with model simulations through advanced statistical methods. This approach helps in merging real-time observations with model outputs, leading to more accurate initial conditions for model simulations and better predictions of short-term climate changes.
5. Machine learning and artificial intelligence: These techniques can be applied to analyze complex climate datasets and identify patterns and relationships that may not be captured by traditional models. Machine learning algorithms can help improve predictions by identifying nonlinear interactions and feedbacks in the climate system.
6. Regional climate models: While global climate models provide a broad overview of climate patterns, regional climate models offer higher resolution and focus on specific geographic areas. These models can provide more detailed projections of local climate changes, which can be crucial for regional planning and adaptation strategies.
7. Ensemble modelling: Using multiple models or ensemble techniques can help incorporate uncertainties inherent in climate projections. By running and averaging multiple simulations, researchers can account for model biases, boundary condition uncertainties, and other sources of variability, resulting in more robust and reliable predictions.
Overall, combining multiple approaches and integrating various sources of data can help improve our understanding and prediction of climate changes, reducing the limitations of individual climate models.
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