<story><title>Puerto Rico files $1B suit against fossil fuel companies</title><url>https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/16/24199686/puerto-rico-fossil-fuel-industry-lawsuit-climate-change</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>TrapLord_Rhodo</author><text>they sell... Oil, gas and other minerals that make our life go around... It makes that computer your typing on, and gets 90% of us to work&amp;#x2F; around.&lt;p&gt;I get it, use of gas and oil causes pollution... But that&amp;#x27;s on the end user, no? I know people love to villify gas companies, but they are some of the most productive engines of society.</text></item><item><author>spiderfarmer</author><text>Some of these lawsuits may be aimed not just at winning in court, but at pushing broader changes in policies or public awareness. Even if these cases are challenging to win, they can influence public opinion and policy, encouraging stricter environmental regulations and corporate practices.&lt;p&gt;Personally I think lawmakers should focus their effort on making stricter legal frameworks for today&amp;#x27;s world. Use the full force of the law to make companies behave better. It&amp;#x27;s the only language they understand.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>phalangion</author><text>One of the roles government can play is to take the negative externalities of an activity (e.g., pollution) and internalize it so that those costs are paid by those who are profiting. The way to do that is to create taxes, fee structures, etc. so that those making money on activities contribute to the overall societal cost.</text></comment>
<story><title>Puerto Rico files $1B suit against fossil fuel companies</title><url>https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/16/24199686/puerto-rico-fossil-fuel-industry-lawsuit-climate-change</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>TrapLord_Rhodo</author><text>they sell... Oil, gas and other minerals that make our life go around... It makes that computer your typing on, and gets 90% of us to work&amp;#x2F; around.&lt;p&gt;I get it, use of gas and oil causes pollution... But that&amp;#x27;s on the end user, no? I know people love to villify gas companies, but they are some of the most productive engines of society.</text></item><item><author>spiderfarmer</author><text>Some of these lawsuits may be aimed not just at winning in court, but at pushing broader changes in policies or public awareness. Even if these cases are challenging to win, they can influence public opinion and policy, encouraging stricter environmental regulations and corporate practices.&lt;p&gt;Personally I think lawmakers should focus their effort on making stricter legal frameworks for today&amp;#x27;s world. Use the full force of the law to make companies behave better. It&amp;#x27;s the only language they understand.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Folcon</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m not clear why this is true?&lt;p&gt;&amp;gt; But that&amp;#x27;s on the end user, no?&lt;p&gt;Pollution is a tragedy of commons scenario, so our best tools for solving it are laws and policy that force behaviour.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;d be surprised if it&amp;#x27;s completely impossible to do the resource extraction without minimising impact, we just don&amp;#x27;t tend to have much pressure to innovate in that direction.&lt;p&gt;The end user on the other hand, has the least power to change any of the dynamics you&amp;#x27;re describing and is usually least able to choose to do without.</text></comment>