Thanks to his majority opinion on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which destroyed the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S., or his weird flag-waving during the “Stop the Steal” movement, Samuel Alito is notorious. But the Supreme Court justice’s entanglements with the fossil fuel industry are also worth scrutinizing, especially as the Court prepares to hear a case on whether fossil fuel companies can be held responsible for the damages of climate change.
In 2018, the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, sued oil and gas giants Suncor and ExxonMobil, alleging they were responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet and making Colorado less livable. The extreme heat is causing dwindling snowpack in the state, with far-reaching impacts on agriculture and water supply, not to mention the multi-billion dollar ski industry. The Supreme Court will hear arguments Oct. 5 on whether these corporations can be held responsible for this ongoing crisis.
