Judge Reluctant to Rule on Global Warming [View All]

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A federal judge expressed reluctance about beginning judicial oversight of pollution issues that affect global warming as she heard arguments Friday in a complaint brought by eight states against some of the nation's largest power companies.

"Why should I do something that Congress and the president have decided they don't want to do as a matter of policy?" Judge Loretta Preska asked lawyers for the states.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the states would prove that the five power companies are responsible for 10 percent of the nation's carbon dioxide emissions.

The states are asking the judge to order the companies to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 3 percent annually for 10 years.

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