STEVE INSKEEP, host: The business news starts with a lawsuit against companies blamed for climate change.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: California is suing the six largest U.S. and Japanese automakers. They're accused of contributing to global warming.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: The state attorney general, Bill Lockyer, filed the suit based on public nuisance laws. He says that greenhouse gasses emitted by vehicles have cost California billions of dollars in damages.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: Now the alliance of automobile manufacturers, speaking on behalf of some of the carmakers, notes that a similar suit brought against power companies was dismissed by a federal court in New York.
The state of California is suing the six largest American and Japanese automakers for contributing to global warming. The state's attorney general filed the suit based on a "public nuisance" argument, stating that greenhouse gases emitted by vehicles have cost California billions of dollars in damages.