IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES TOP FIVE U.S. GLOBAL WARMING POLLUTERS



Landmark Suit Seeks Dramatic Carbon Dioxide Emission Reductions from Power Plants



The
states of California, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Rhode
Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, along with the City of New York, filed
suit today against the five largest global warming polluters in the
United States. It is the first time state and local governments have
sued private companies to require reductions in the heat-trapping
carbon dioxide emissions that scientists say pose serious threats to
our health, economy and environment.



Companies
sued in this action include: American Electric Power Company; the
Southern Company; Tennessee Valley Authority; Xcel Energy Inc.; and
Cinergy Corporation. Together, they own or operate 174 fossil fuel
burning power plants in 20 states that emit some 650 million tons of
carbon dioxide each year – almost a quarter of the U.S. utility
industry's annual carbon dioxide emissions and about 10 percent of the
nation's total. The action calls on the companies to reduce their
pollution, and does not seek monetary damages.



Iowa
Attorney General Tom Miller brought the Iowa perspective to the
problem.  “Global warming threatens Iowa as we know it
today.  The Earth is heating faster than at any time in history,
and that poses enormous risk to Iowa agriculture and Iowans' health.
The problem is pollution, and the top source of pollution is carbon
dioxide emissions from power plants. The good news is we can tackle
this and try to turn it around, and that's what our lawsuit is all
about. We must act now to protect the beautiful and bountiful Iowa we
know today, for our children and grandchildren, and generations to
come.”



The case
was filed today in federal district court in New York under the federal
common law of public nuisance, which provides a right of action to curb
air and water pollution emanating from sources in other states. Public
nuisance is a well-established legal doctrine that is commonly invoked
in environmental cases and forms the basis for much of today's modern
environmental law. The defendant companies' emissions contribute to a
harm borne by all members of the public. The states as sovereign
governments and the City of New York have the right to protect their
residents and properties from such widespread harm.



Plaintiffs
are bringing suit because global warming is a serious threat to
communities and the environment in the states. These impacts will
become increasingly severe if emissions are not reduced. Damages from
global warming include more asthma and other respiratory disease;
increased heatstroke and heat-related mortality; loss of beaches, tidal
wetlands, salt marshes, coastal property, fisheries and costly impacts
to coastal and urban infrastructure (tunnels, subways, water treatment
plants, and airport facilities) due to rising sea levels; loss of
mountain snowpack, a major fresh water source in California; property
damage and human safety risks due to drought and floods; loss of
Northeast hardwood forests; and widespread harm to wildlife.



A report
prepared by the National Academy of Sciences at the request of
[pseudo-]pResident Bush in 2001 reaffirmed widespread consensus that
carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping emissions are responsible for
the problem. Experts say that if nothing is done to cut emissions,
average global temperatures will rise between 3 and 10 degrees
Fahrenheit by the end of the century. By comparison, the difference in
global average temperature between now and the last ice age was only
7-11 degrees Fahrenheit.



Scientists
say the Earth is warming faster today than at any time in human
history, and more rapidly than any natural factors can explain. The
most recent data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration show that 2003 tied 2002 as the second hottest year on
record, following 1998. The five hottest years all have occurred since
1997 and the 10 hottest since 1990.



Readily
available solutions to reduce carbon dioxide pollution include
increased efficiency of coal-burning plants; switching from coal to
cleaner-burning fuels; greater use of biomass energy derived from
plants; investment in energy conservation; and use of clean energy
sources like wind and solar power. Clean coal technologies also are
emerging that allow carbon dioxide to be removed from coal-fired power
plant smokestacks.



Federal
studies indicate that electric power producers, the largest global
warming polluters, present the best opportunity for significant and
cost-effective reductions of carbon dioxide pollution. Scientists say
that since carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, the longer the
delay before significant cuts are made, the sharper and deeper they
will need to be.