U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the U.S. Justice Department has discussed the possibility of pursuing civil actions against so-called “climate change deniers.” Urged by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D.-R.I.) to prosecute those who “pretend that the science of carbon emissions’ dangers is unsettled,” particularly those in the “fossil fuel industry” who supposedly have constructed a “climate denial apparatus,” Lynch said she has referred the matter “to the FBI to consider whether or not it meets the criteria for which we could take action.”
California Attorney General Kamala Harris and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, have both opened up “investigations of ExxonMobil for allegedly lying to the public and their shareholders about climate change.”
This is a blow to the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution since climate change is an unproven controversial theory, and is reminiscent of the old Soviet Union, where Joseph Stalin persecuted those whom he thought had the “wrong” scientific views on everything from linguistics to physics, or of Galileo Gallilei who was arraigned before the Roman Catholic Inquisition in Rome for disagreeing with the consensus of his time and advocating the Copernican theory of the universe. The Inquisition stifled scientific investigation and freedom of speech and thought as well as that of religion. Because of the Inquisition, Catholic countries, especially Spain and Italy where the Inquisition was strongest, became scientific backwaters.
Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said, “The bottom line is simple: Climate change is real.” He went on to say that if companies are committing fraud by “lying” about the dangers of climate change, they will “pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.” Schneiderman and a coalition of 17 U.S. attorneys general, calling themselves “AGs United for Clean Power,” are threatening legal action and huge fines against anyone who declines to believe in an unproven scientific theory. “Schneiderman claimed that climate change dissenters are committing ‘fraud’ and are not protected by the First Amendment.”
Al Gore, for U.S. Vice-President, who joined the 17 attorneys general praised the group, saying “what these attorneys general are doing is exceptionally important.”
Other attorneys general who disagree with the coalition say their “ambition [is] to use the law to silence voices with which [they] disagree.”
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and Alabama Attorney said “This scientific and political debate is healthy and should be encouraged. It should not be silenced with threats of criminal prosecution by those who believe that their position is the only correct one and that all dissenting voices must therefore be intimidated and coerced into silence. It is inappropriate for State Attorneys General to use the power of their office to attempt to silence core political speech on one of the major policy debates of our time.”
Those who believe in the rule of law and who fear the unbridled power of the government should be very concerned about this.
This strikes a serious blow against the free flow of ideas and the vigorous debate over scientific issues that is a hallmark of an advanced, technological society like ours.
Back in September of 2015 a group of climate activists sent a letter to the White House urging the federal government to use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in order to hold climate skeptics legally liable for the effects of man-made global warming. This led Senator Whitehouse to advocate the idea.
It is important to note that the rise of the coalition of attorney’s general and the discussions of the Justice Department come on the heals of Pope Francis’ push throughout 2015 to get a climate change agreement approved at the climate change summit in Paris in December.
Would other pseudo-legal matters arise if Sunday observance became a major global issue?
Source References
Correction: A previous edition of this article inadvertantly said that Galileo Galilei was arraigned before the Spanish Inquisition for disagreeing with the consensus of his time and advocating the Copernican theory of the universe.