For Release: March 19, 2010
For media inquiries only, contact: Brian J. Gottstein
Email:bgottstein@oag.state.va.us
Phone: 804-786-5874
Twelve States to Join Virginia Attorney General’s
Appeal of EPA’s Regulation of CO2
RICHMOND (March 19, 2010) – Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II announced today that 12 states have filed motions to join the appeals previously filed by Virginia, Texas, and Alabama to the Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding regarding the potential regulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.
According to Cuccinelli, this bipartisan initiative brings the total number of states supporting Virginia’s position to at least 15. “While we made the decision to intervene based on what was in the best interests of Virginia and her citizens, it is gratifying to have the support of so many other states,” said Cuccinelli.
“The potential regulations resulting from the endangerment finding could severely impact Virginia jobs; energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and other industries; as well as put a tremendous financial burden on Virginia citizens. We believe it is imperative that we ensure the process leading to the finding was carried out consistently with American law and scientific standards. That is why we appealed,” said Cuccinelli.
“The methods and objectivity of the global warming scientists on which the EPA relied for its decision have been seriously questioned. The original proponents of man-made global warming now admit that there is no scientific evidence that the Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035, or that the seas are rising due to warming, or that African agriculture will collapse by 2020 — all predictions that have formed the central narrative for climate action. Additionally, professor Phil Jones, the chief climatologist behind the global warming theory, admits that there has been no statistically significant warming for 15 years.”
The 12 states filing motions in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to join Virginia’s appeal are Nebraska, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah.