The city and county of Santa Cruz have joined a growing number of communities suing oil companies over climate change, alleging a plot in which the fossil fuel industry concealed the dangers of its products from consumers, much like the tobacco industry did decades ago. The two lawsuits, filed Wednesday, blame the use and combustion of oil, gas and coal for accelerating sea-level rise and threatening hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to the famously serene and much visited Santa Cruz County coast. While the challenge is similar to other suits recently filed by waterfront communities in California, including San Francisco , the new cases in Santa Cruz County Superior Court go a step further. They seek to recoup not only the costs of rising seas but of other climate-related events, including big storms, wildfires and drought. “We believe enough is enough,” said Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach […]