The attempt to litigate global warming as a public nuisance in Connecticut v. American Electric Power Co. presents a host of challenging legal issues, only some of which have been explored here. As with many suits that seek to achieve wide-ranging social and economic change, the plaintiffs must prevail against a variety of defenses in order to obtain relief; if the defendants succeed on only one, the plaintiffs are out of luck. My assessment of the issues suggests that, however novel or difficult each one may be when considered individually, the defendants are likely to find at least one winning defense somewhere along the line. Global warming is not going to be solved by public nuisance litigation. This only makes it more important to redouble our efforts to consider what form a realistic solution should take.
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