California
California’s Rash Plastic Lawsuit Is Anti-Growth And Anti-Environment
Mobius loop or recycling symbol with arrows.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s plastics lawsuit against ExxonMobil may be astute politics but it is terrible policy. This lawsuit is rife with contradictions. Frivolous lawsuits are also a large and growing pall hanging over the economy.
Many studies have documented the high costs frivolous lawsuits impose on Americans. According to the Institute for Legal Reform, frivolous lawsuits cost the U.S. economy $443 billion in 2020. These costs ultimately raise the prices of the goods and services we purchase every day, which means that tort abuse imposes a $3,621 annual tax on every household.
Attorney General Bonta’s lawsuit, along with the lawsuit filed by environmental groups making similar accusations, is no different. As I noted in a previous Forbes column, the lawsuit accuses ExxonMobil of fraudulently promoting plastic recycling as a solution to the problem of plastic waste while, at the same time, state and local governments in California have promoted, and continue to promote, the exact same solution – plastic recycling.
There are many instances of these contradictions.
When California Governor Gavin Newsom was mayor of San Francisco he promoted the practice as an essential part of his efforts to establish the “toughest recycling law” in the nation. Through CalRecycle, California state and local governments continue their long-standing promotion of plastic recycling.
According to CalRecycle, “on June 30, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 54 (Allen, 2022) into law to address the impacts of single-use packaging and plastic food service ware.” The law requires that by 2032, the use of single-use plastic is reduced by 25%, 65% of single-use plastic is recycled, and 100% of single-use plastic is recyclable.
If promoting plastic recycling is deceptive when ExxonMobil does it, why is it not deceptive when the Governor promotes the same activity? Isn’t CalRecycle being deceptive when it continues to promote plastic recycling today? These differences in treatment raise serious concerns regarding the AG’s lawsuit.
Also noteworthy, AG Bonta’s own constituents are supportive of expanding plastics recycling. According to a January 27th poll, “63% [of Californians]
want the state to expand and improve its recycling infrastructure to find ways to give a new life to plastics. That compares to only 27% who prefer the state eliminate single-use plastic and stop manufacturing new plastics.”
Moreover, whether plastic recycling is an economically viable option is not the relevant question. Some analyses are pessimistic about the value of plastic recycling. For instance, a commentary for the New Jersey Institute of Technology noted that “today, recycled plastic generally costs more to refine and buy than new plastic.”
There are other analyses that, while noting obstacles remain, assert that there are reasons for optimism. As a 2020 McKinsey analysis concluded,
Our recent research has shown substantial value-creation potential in capturing plastic waste and using existing technologies to process it to make new plastics and other chemicals. To date, however, investments to translate this potential into reality have been relatively small. Globally, only around 15 percent of plastics produced each year get recycled.
It follows from the McKinsey report that investments to translate this potential into reality are needed to support more efficient plastic waste management.
There are sound reasons to believe that investing in advanced recycling technology can provide great value. For example, Exxon’s advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas has processed more than 70 million pounds of plastic waste into new products to date.
There are fewer reasons to believe that Governors, Attorneys General, or other state leaders can be effective arbiters of which innovative technologies have the potential to add value, and which do not. Instead, innovation is best fostered when millions of private businesses and budding entrepreneurs guide capital allocation and assess risk.
In practice, preemptive judgements on novel technology by experts and political leaders often age poorly – after all, Henry Morton (a contemporary of Thomas Edison and president of the Stevens Institute of Technology) called Edison’s light bulb “a conspicuous failure.”
Ultimately, it is the private sector that drives innovation forward. The AG’s legal action is another demonstration of California’s growing hostility toward businesses and innovators. Beyond the lawsuit’s strong anti-growth and anti-consumer impacts, it obstructs the very creative processes necessary to more effectively manage the plastic waste problem.
California
Suspected Northern California library shooter charged with murder, faces life in prison
OROVILLE — Bradley Scott Sayer was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and discharge of firearm with injury during his arraignment Thursday at the Butte County Superior Court.
Sayer, 18, is the suspect in the Chico library shooting on Monday in which two men were killed, and he could face life in prison. If convicted, Sayer is facing the highest penalty for capital murder with special circumstances, which would be life in prison without the possibility of parole. Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, who is the prosecutor of the case, said the court is not seeking the death penalty.
Sayer was not given bail, as Ramsey said the court felt Sayer was “too dangerous.” Ramsey also said Sayer is on suicide watch in at the Butte County Jail.
“We felt that it would be too dangerous to let him go at this juncture,” Ramsey said. “He planned a mass shooting, and there’s no reason to believe that if he was let go, that he wouldn’t continue to do that.”
Sayer was staying at his father’s house, who was out of town, the day of the shooting, according to Ramsey. He then went to the closet in his father’s room and took two .22 caliber rifles and a 20-gauge shotgun, as well as several boxes of “No. 3 birdshot shells” before leaving for the library.
Sayer will appear in court next at 8:30 a.m. July 16 at the Butte County Superior Court, where he is expected to enter a plea. He is being represented by Roberto Marquez as retained counsel.
Autopsies
The Chico Police Department released a final update regarding the shooting case. The Butte County Sheriff’s Office completed the autopsies of both Jacob Cody Hull and Robert Johnson.
“The autopsies were completed; results indicate that both victims died as result of gunshot wounds. The wounds are consistent with a shotgun being used. The decedents will be turned over to their families who will be making funeral arrangements. The suspect remains in custody at the Butte County Jail being held in isolation,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said.
California
CA state senator physically, verbally harassed at pride parade for Israel stance | The Jerusalem Post
California State Senator Scott Wiener was harassed for his stance on Gaza during the San Francisco Trans March on Friday, to the point where it was no longer safe for him to remain, Wiener said.
A group of people were so “physically and verbally aggressive that it was impossible for me to safely remain in the park,” Wiener stated, adding that this was the first time he did not participate in the march.
Wiener was surrounded by people who made statements about his “Israeli handlers, among many other inaccurate, extreme, and vile statements,” Wiener said.
“We f***ing hate you. You stopped being queer the moment you started supporting Israel,” one person yelled in a video later shared on social media.
Wiener stated that while he has no objection to anyone disagreeing, opposing, or protesting him, the “harassment, including cornering me, touching me, or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line.”
“In San Francisco, we’re better than that,” he added.
Mayor Daniel Lurie made a statement on X/Twitter condemning the harassment, calling the language used “targeted, hateful, and antisemitic.”
In San Francisco, we welcome disagreement and respectful dialogue around issues many of us feel passionately about – but we cannot allow harassment and threats of violence,” Lurie wrote.
The California State Senate Democratic Caucus also released a statement on X, condemning the hate Wiener received.
“The harassment and violence shown from yesterday’s march in San Francisco towards Senator Scott Wiener is unacceptable and must be called out,” the statement read.
The caucus also pointed to Wiener’s work on legislation “advancing the rights and protections for Transgender, Gender Expansive and Intersex people.”
“The CA Senate Democratic Caucus and CA LGBTQ Caucus jointly denounce the verbal harassment and attacks he experienced,” the statement said.
California
At least 117 dead dogs found in search at California animal rescue accused of abuse, officials said
California authorities unearthed at least 117 dogs in “various states of decomposition” on Friday, many of which appeared to have been killed by gunshot, as part of an ongoing investigation into an animal rescue organization.
The bodies were discovered during a search of Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna, California, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Officials had been granted a warrant that included excavation of the property for evidence that dogs had been buried in “mass graves.”
The 117 canine remains were those found mostly intact at two sites, the sheriff’s office said. Nearly two dozen skulls, “hundreds” of bones, and 600 dog collars were also recovered on the property.
Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal thanked the law enforcement teams and forensic veterinarians who assisted in the recovery. In a statement, he noted that the investigation is “just getting started.”
“The determination all of these professionals showed while working through this horrific scene is something we will not forget,” Honsal said.
NBC News was not able to reach Shannon Miranda, the founder of Miranda’s Rescue, by phone on Sunday. She did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
The sheriff’s office said in a news release last week that it had been contacted in April regarding allegations of fraud, animal abuse and animal cruelty at the rescue, and that the case had been assigned to the Major Crimes Division.
An initial search warrant was executed on May 1, at which time officials seized evidence related to the investigation. Investigators also determined that a “significant number” of animals surrendered to the rescue had not been accounted for.
A second search warrant, executed Thursday, led to the recovery of the canine remains.
Forensic veterinarians were able to examine 71 of the bodies on-site Thursday but did not have time to reach the remaining 46. A preliminary examination — including X-rays of the remains — found that “many of those animals showed evidence of bullet fragments.”
Investigators are working to identify dogs that were microchipped.
Other remains were found “in advanced stages of decomposition” and were deemed too severely deteriorated to be removed from their burial site, the sheriff’s office said.
This investigation is expected to be lengthy, the sheriff’s office cautioned in a statement to the public.
“The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office understands the public’s desire for accountability and justice,” it said. “However, it is our responsibility to conduct a complete, impartial, and legally sound investigation while ensuring that the constitutional and legal rights of everyone involved are protected throughout the process.”
No charges were announced.
Miranda was not available for comment, but posted a statement on June 18 addressing “recent media coverage and online commentary,” on the rescue’s website. The statement described two incidents that had “drawn particular attention” both involving animals that were killed at the facility.
The first involved a dog that killed another animal and attacked a third; the second involved a dog that lunged at a stroller carrying a baby, according to the statement.
“These were not decisions made lightly and were based on my responsibility to protect both the public and the animals in our care,” Miranda wrote.
The statement also described Miranda’s Rescue is a no-kill shelter, meaning animals are not euthanized simply to free up space, but acknowledged euthanasia is sometimes necessary.
“Whenever euthanasia has been necessary, I have notified local authorities in advance, even when told that reporting is not required,” Miranda wrote. “I believe it is important to maintain a clear record of these difficult decisions.”
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