SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Youth climate activists attend the Minnesota March for Science held in St. Paul in April 2017. (Photo: Lorie Shaull/Flickr/cc)
To 'Secure a Livable Future,' 30,000 Youth Urge Court to Let Landmark Climate Suit Go to Trial
"The Trump administration is doing everything it can to stop Juliana v. United States from going to trial. The youth cannot let that happen."
Feb 27, 2019
Calling for an end to years of delays and inaction as global warming continues to accelerate, over 30,000 young people signed on to an amicus brief urging the Ninth Circuit to allow a landmark youth climate lawsuit to proceed to trial.
"I am so hyped to see how many other young people feel empowered to support us in this amicus brief and push for change for our futures," Miko Vergun, a 17-year-old plaintiff in Juliana v. United States, said in a statement on Thursday. "The amount of young people... who added their names to support this brief is a representation of all the youth who know that their futures and their planet are at stake."
"We are filing the Young People's brief to show that thousands of youth across America not only feel the urgency of climate action, but also understand that the youth climate lawsuit must proceed to secure a livable future."
--Jamie Margolin, Zero Hour
The Juliana case began in 2015, when a group of young people aged 11-22 sued the U.S. government for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property by enacting policies that contributed to the climate crisis.
The Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to stop the lawsuit moving forward. In November, as Common Dreams reported, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump White House's request for a stay in the case.
Zero Hour--a youth-led climate group representing the more than 30,000 young people--said it plans to file the amicus brief (pdf) on Friday.
"The Trump administration is doing everything it can to stop Juliana v. United States from going to trial. The youth cannot let that happen," said Jamie Margolin, the 17-year-old founder of Zero Hour. "We are filing the Young People's brief to show that thousands of youth across America not only feel the urgency of climate action, but also understand that the youth climate lawsuit must proceed to secure a livable future."
The youth-led court battle with the Trump administration comes as young Americans throughout the U.S. are urgently mobilizing in support of the Green New Deal resolution, which supporters say is the only plan that would address climate change with the level of ambition required by the science.
"These rallies aren't just about chanting and being on the news. They are about us defending our right to be heard and our right to a home, to clean air and water, and to a livable future," wrote Sunrise Movement member Destine Grigsby, who participated in a sit-in at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's Washington, D.C. office earlier this week. "[I]f we fight back, if we share our stories, we can build a bigger movement and win."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Calling for an end to years of delays and inaction as global warming continues to accelerate, over 30,000 young people signed on to an amicus brief urging the Ninth Circuit to allow a landmark youth climate lawsuit to proceed to trial.
"I am so hyped to see how many other young people feel empowered to support us in this amicus brief and push for change for our futures," Miko Vergun, a 17-year-old plaintiff in Juliana v. United States, said in a statement on Thursday. "The amount of young people... who added their names to support this brief is a representation of all the youth who know that their futures and their planet are at stake."
"We are filing the Young People's brief to show that thousands of youth across America not only feel the urgency of climate action, but also understand that the youth climate lawsuit must proceed to secure a livable future."
--Jamie Margolin, Zero Hour
The Juliana case began in 2015, when a group of young people aged 11-22 sued the U.S. government for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property by enacting policies that contributed to the climate crisis.
The Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to stop the lawsuit moving forward. In November, as Common Dreams reported, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump White House's request for a stay in the case.
Zero Hour--a youth-led climate group representing the more than 30,000 young people--said it plans to file the amicus brief (pdf) on Friday.
"The Trump administration is doing everything it can to stop Juliana v. United States from going to trial. The youth cannot let that happen," said Jamie Margolin, the 17-year-old founder of Zero Hour. "We are filing the Young People's brief to show that thousands of youth across America not only feel the urgency of climate action, but also understand that the youth climate lawsuit must proceed to secure a livable future."
The youth-led court battle with the Trump administration comes as young Americans throughout the U.S. are urgently mobilizing in support of the Green New Deal resolution, which supporters say is the only plan that would address climate change with the level of ambition required by the science.
"These rallies aren't just about chanting and being on the news. They are about us defending our right to be heard and our right to a home, to clean air and water, and to a livable future," wrote Sunrise Movement member Destine Grigsby, who participated in a sit-in at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's Washington, D.C. office earlier this week. "[I]f we fight back, if we share our stories, we can build a bigger movement and win."
Calling for an end to years of delays and inaction as global warming continues to accelerate, over 30,000 young people signed on to an amicus brief urging the Ninth Circuit to allow a landmark youth climate lawsuit to proceed to trial.
"I am so hyped to see how many other young people feel empowered to support us in this amicus brief and push for change for our futures," Miko Vergun, a 17-year-old plaintiff in Juliana v. United States, said in a statement on Thursday. "The amount of young people... who added their names to support this brief is a representation of all the youth who know that their futures and their planet are at stake."
"We are filing the Young People's brief to show that thousands of youth across America not only feel the urgency of climate action, but also understand that the youth climate lawsuit must proceed to secure a livable future."
--Jamie Margolin, Zero Hour
The Juliana case began in 2015, when a group of young people aged 11-22 sued the U.S. government for violating their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property by enacting policies that contributed to the climate crisis.
The Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to stop the lawsuit moving forward. In November, as Common Dreams reported, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump White House's request for a stay in the case.
Zero Hour--a youth-led climate group representing the more than 30,000 young people--said it plans to file the amicus brief (pdf) on Friday.
"The Trump administration is doing everything it can to stop Juliana v. United States from going to trial. The youth cannot let that happen," said Jamie Margolin, the 17-year-old founder of Zero Hour. "We are filing the Young People's brief to show that thousands of youth across America not only feel the urgency of climate action, but also understand that the youth climate lawsuit must proceed to secure a livable future."
The youth-led court battle with the Trump administration comes as young Americans throughout the U.S. are urgently mobilizing in support of the Green New Deal resolution, which supporters say is the only plan that would address climate change with the level of ambition required by the science.
"These rallies aren't just about chanting and being on the news. They are about us defending our right to be heard and our right to a home, to clean air and water, and to a livable future," wrote Sunrise Movement member Destine Grigsby, who participated in a sit-in at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's Washington, D.C. office earlier this week. "[I]f we fight back, if we share our stories, we can build a bigger movement and win."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.