crime against nature

Dr. James Hansen, a leading scientist on climate change, has stated that he believes the top executives in oil companies such as ExxonMobil should be charged with high crimes against humanity and nature. This is not because of the fact that the CEO's sell oil, but because he believes that they tried to spread doubt about global warming and its effects, as well as obstructing action.

I believe that if this case went through, (correct me if I'm wrong) it would be the first time that someone was charged with a "high crime against nature." High crimes against humanity were used in the past more for war crimes and leaders that caused genocides. I guess one could argue that global warming, which in the end could cause massive extinctions, may be on par or even worse than genocides.

However, these CEO's are not solely responsible for global warming. They sell the oil - the public uses it. They don't force anyone to emit greenhouse gases. Additionally, though they may have tried to spread doubt about the process of global warming, the research was out for the public for many many years. The execs may have delayed the reaction to global warming, but all of us have some accountability.

Still, imprisoning the executives would not really benefit the situation currently occurring. Rather, it seems like a government's way of putting the blame away from itself. The federal government has its own top scientists and climatologists. If it had really wanted to act on global warming, it should have done so, knowing the oil companies have their own agendas.

Instead of looking to the past and trying to find scapegoats for the problems we are experiencing, the U.S. government should focus more of its time and energy on cutting down carbon/other greenhouse gas emissions (which we still don't have a satisfactory plan about).