From The Associated Press, 8/24/05:
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-global-warming-lawsuit,0,2527736.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

Federal Judge OKs Global Warming Lawsuit

By DAVID KRAVETS
Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO --

Environmental groups and four U.S. cities can sue federal development
agencies on allegations the overseas projects they back financially
contribute to global warming, a judge has ruled.

A coalition of environmental groups sued two government agencies that
provide loans and insure billions of dollars of U.S. investors' money
for development projects overseas.

Many are power plants that emit greenhouses gases such as carbon
dioxide that are believed to be a leading cause of global warming.

"This is the first decision in the country to say that climate change
causes sufficient injury to give a plaintiff standing, to open the
courthouse door," said Ronald Shems, a Vermont attorney representing
Friends of the Earth.

That group, in addition to Greenpeace, Boulder, Colo., and the
California cities of Oakland, Santa Monica and Arcata, sued the
government agencies.

They argued that the National Environmental Policy Act, the law
requiring environmental assessments of proposed projects in the United
States, should apply to the U.S.-backed projects overseas because they
contribute to the degradation of the U.S. environment.

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Harry