Andrew Burton/Getty

The cities of San Francisco and Oakland are suing five of the world’s largest energy companies over their role in contributing to climate change and sea-level rise.
The federal judge hearing the case is holding a five-hour “climate science tutorial” today — a first for a federal courtroom.
The hearing is being compared to the famous Scopes monkey trial in 1925, though both sides in this case agree that climate change is caused by humans.

A judge in California is presiding over the the first “climate science tutorial” held in a federal courtroom today.

The cities of San Francisco and Oakland are suing Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, BP, and Shell over what the cities see as the companies’ role in causing climate change. The cities want the energy companies to contribute to efforts to combat the consequences of climate change, especially sea-level rise, which is a threat to swaths of the Bay Area. Sea-level projections are already beginning to cause property values to drop and forcing residents — and billion-dollar tech companies — to consider relocating in the years ahead. See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: What happens to your body and brain when you get hypothermia

See Also:

Disturbing before-and-after images show how Silicon Valley tech offices could be submerged by 2100These Amazon HQ2 finalist cities could be partially underwater in our children’s lifetimesThis inexpensive TV antenna gets you the most mileage for the money

SEE ALSO: Disturbing before-and-after images show how Silicon Valley tech offices could be submerged by 2100

Read More