California Air Resources Board (CARB) has a collection of literally thousands of research papers from the peer reviewed scientific literature showing a very clear association between traffic associated air pollution (PM2.5) and just about every adverse health effect one can think of (COPD, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, hypertension, CHF, heart attacks, diabetes, developmental delay, ADHD, dementia, seizures, Parkinsons disease, preterm labor, thyroid disease, obesity, various cancers). Would it not make sense to sue the automakers, similar to how the tobacco industry was sued?
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Question for legal experts: Sue Big Auto for adverse health effects of particulate air pollution?
- Thread starter commasign
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Why don't we sure every individual who had registered an ICE in the last 50 years?
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Because purchasing a product doesn't make you liable for the damages it causes unless you knew of the consequences and hide them. Like most of the ICE manufactures and oil majors have... VW and Exxon being the most pernicious.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
People said the same thing about the tobacco lawsuits... here we are ~$250B later
The damage done by tobacco is a drop in the ocean compared to the damage wrought by the fools fuel peddlers. Same level of deceit if not greater => same level of liability if not greater. I would prefer a carbon tax. Cleaner and more equitable. But I'll settle for Trillions in liability and super-rich lawyers
People said the same thing about the tobacco lawsuits... here we are ~$250B later
The damage done by tobacco is a drop in the ocean compared to the damage wrought by the fools fuel peddlers. Same level of deceit if not greater => same level of liability if not greater.
Should we also start thinking about the lawsuit against Tesla for their use of cobalt, a known carcinogen, in their batteries?
The answer is not lawsuits. A superior product now exists and ICE vehicles will be going the way of the dinosaur on their own. They need not be sued or legislated away.
And last I checked, Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds are still cranking out product.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
Is there evidence that Tesla is intentionally spewing Cobalt into the atmosphere?
I agree the best answer isn't lawsuits. But the market needs help driving ICE into extinction. It's not gonna happen fast enough on its own....
They are intentionally mining it, using it in their products, and will need a plan to dispose of it when all those depleted cells become useless.
Legislating away the competition never works.
nwdiver
Well-Known Member
So... that's a 'no' then... sounds like there's not a problem. The cobalt is valuable... it will be recycled.
LOL... tell that to VW
Now that it can be defined in terms of lost life expectancy, it won't be long before the law suits start...
Fine-Particulate Air Pollution and Life Expectancy in the United States
Air Pollution and Mortality in the Medicare Population
Fine-Particulate Air Pollution and Life Expectancy in the United States
Air Pollution and Mortality in the Medicare Population
Anything is possible. I presume you have a room full of big-time, top-notch, corporate lawyers all lined up for a lot of pro-bono work that will last a decade or so? They only take 40% or maybe 50% in this action. Notwithstanding years of legal battling in the courts, this is going to take a big, big war chest of gold. Meanwhile, the big automakers will be calling in lots of political debt owed for all those political "donations". I can imagine their war chests and capacity to raise capital for the fight will be much larger than yours and mine put together. And, except for Volkswagen, the automakers will all claim they did everything the federal regulators told them to do vis-à-vis controlling pollution! It must be the fault of the Chinese still burning all that coal and rode the jet stream to the US. The potential suit would probably have merit and would be an honorable cause for sure.
I'd be happy to join the "class action" but by the time the war is won I'll be around 85, suffer from Alzheimer's, and have no idea of what it was I became involved in, fought for and maybe won. I will truly need and require an autonomous vehicle but I won't remember where I need to go
