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
Amidst Mounting Climate Chaos, One Court Presides Over Fate of Nation and Its Youth
WHAT: Oral arguments in Juliana, et al. v. United States, et al., before Judge Ann Aiken on government and fossil fuel industry's objections to Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin's denial of their motions to dismiss.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 13, 2016 @10:00 am PST. Arrive by 8:00 am to secure a seat in the courtroom.
WHAT: Oral arguments in Juliana, et al. v. United States, et al., before Judge Ann Aiken on government and fossil fuel industry's objections to Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin's denial of their motions to dismiss.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 13, 2016 @10:00 am PST. Arrive by 8:00 am to secure a seat in the courtroom.
A news conference will be held on the courthouse steps immediately following the hearing at approximately 12:00 pm.
WHERE: The Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse
Courtroom 1 (Overflow viewing in Courtrooms 2, 4)
405 E. 8th St., Eugene, Oregon
WHO: Youth plaintiffs Alex, Aji, Avery, Hazel, Isaac, Jacob, Jaime, Jayden, Journey, Kelsey, Kiran, Levi, Miko, Nathan, Nick, Sahara, Sophie, Tia, Victoria, Xiuhtezcatl, and Zealand, and Dr. James Hansen, as guardian for future generations.
Please contact: Meg Ward to arrange to speak to plaintiffs and/or attorneys.
WHY: Twenty-one youth plaintiffs, and Dr. James Hansen, filed a lawsuit in 2015 against the United States, seeking to secure their constitutional rights to a stable climate. Three trade associations, representing the fossil fuel industry intervened to protect their interests. Both the government and the trade associations filed motions to dismiss to throw the youth's case out of court. They lost.
In April, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin denied all the motions to dismiss, paving the way for the case to move forward. However, both the government and fossil fuel industry filed motions in objection to Judge Coffin's findings. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken will hear oral arguments on those motions from lawyers representing all of the parties.
Jayden, 13, one of the 21 youth plaintiffs in this landmark climate case, is a resident of Rayne, Louisiana. For her, the hearing comes just one month after the waters from a catastrophic 1,000 year flood crept into her bedroom in the middle of the night and destroyed most of her family's home. The flooding in Louisiana killed 13 people and forced at least 30,000 more to evacuate. An estimated 146,000 families, like Jayden's, are now trying to repair the flood damage to their homes.
The Louisiana flooding came a little more than a week after NOAA released its 2015 State of the Climate Report, confirming that "global surface temperature in 2015 easily beat the previous record holder, 2014, for the title of warmest year in the modern instrument record," and that "14 of the 15 warmest years on record have occurred since the year 2000."
"They called it a thousand year flood, meaning it should only happen every thousand years or so," said Jayden. "But in my state - Louisiana - we have had that 1,000 year flood and eight 500-year floods in less than two years. A few weeks ago I literally stepped out of bed and was up to my ankles in climate change. Soon I will leave my home, which is still a mess - no walls, no carpet, even my little brothers toys were destroyed! But I feel like I have to go to court, because my little brother can't speak for himself, he's too little. But I can speak for him, and for everyone in my generation. It's time we were heard. It's time President Obama protects our future, and my little brothers future."
Jayden and her fellow plaintiffs will be entering the hearing Tuesday with momentum from legal victories from their peers. Aside from their own victory before Judge Coffin, they are emboldened by other youth plaintiff wins in state courts in Washington, Massachusetts, and New Mexico. Not to mention other state andinternational legal actions underway, all with support from Our Children's Trust.
"We must hold the world's governments accountable for the safety of current and future generations," said Roger Cox, the Dutch lawyer who won a similar lawsuit against the Netherlands last year for not taking sufficient measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause dangerous climate change. "If U.S. courts uphold their federal government's duty to protect our atmosphere, that would bolster our own legal efforts in Europe and give hope across the world that the U.S. may finally walk the walk, and not just talk the talk."
"My client Jayden, who is 13 years old, just survived a 1,000-year flood event that devastated her home with sewage-contaminated rivers running through her bedroom and her community," said Julia Olson, plaintiffs' attorney and Executive Director and Chief Legal Counsel of Our Children's Trust. "This is the ninth flood event that is supposed to happen once every 500 years or more to hit her region in two years, floods that would not happen but for climate change. Yet, the national energy policy of the U.S. is 'drill baby, drill'. And by 2040, fossil fuel consumption will still make up more than 75% of our energy supply compared to 80% today. According to these federal defendants, by 2040 our carbon dioxide emissions will at best be flatlining at dangerous levels. Make no mistake, the U.S. government has caused climate change and continues to promote a fossil fuel system that is violating the rights of these 21 young plaintiffs."
Representing the plaintiffs on Tuesday are Julia A. Olson of Wild Earth Advocates, Philip L. Gregory of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP, and Daniel M. Galpern. Olson also serves as the Executive Director and Chief Legal Counsel of Our Children's Trust.
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/809503839149675/
Twitter: #KidsvGov
WHILE YOU'RE IN TOWN:
Just one day before the hearing, on Monday, September 12, 2016, the University of Oregon Environmental & Natural Resources Law Center and the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics will be hosting: Climate in Court: A Convening of Renowned Climate Experts in Eugene, Oregon. The panel, scheduled to run from 12 pm - 2 pm PST, will include climate scientist Dr. James Hansen (who is both a plaintiff and an expert in the youth's lawsuit), economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, and psychiatrist Dr. Lise Van Susteren. The panel will take place in the University of Oregon's EMU Redwood Auditorium (Room 214), but as seating is limited to 275 persons, the panel will be also live streamed at: https://media.uoregon.edu/channel/livestream.
Our Children's Trust is a nonprofit organization advocating for urgent emissions reductions on behalf of youth and future generations, who have the most to lose if emissions are not reduced. OCT is spearheading the international human rights and environmental TRUST Campaign to compel governments to safeguard the atmosphere as a "public trust" resource. We use law, film, and media to elevate their compelling voices. Our ultimate goal is for governments to adopt and implement enforceable science-based Climate Recovery Plans with annual emissions reductions to return to an atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration of 350 ppm.
LATEST NEWS
'Your Tax Dollars Being Used to Raise Your Gas Prices': US-Israel Bomb Major Iranian Oil Depots
Scenes from Tehran on Saturday were described as "apocalyptic" and widely condemned.
Mar 07, 2026
In what was described as a "major escalation" of an attack already denounced as an illegal war of choice, the US-Israeli military coalition bombed major oil depots and other fossil fuel infrastructure in and around Tehran on Saturday, unleashing huge fireballs, turning streets to fire, and sending plumes of black smoke into the night sky while garnering fresh condemnation from the international community.
"Your tax dollars being used to raise your gas prices," Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democrat running for the US Senate, said in reaction to dramatic footage of the explosions circulating online.
"Scenes from Tehran look apocalyptic," said Assal Rad, a fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, DC, sharing footage of the massive fire storm.
Scenes from Tehran look apocalyptic. This is a city of 10 million people.
pic.twitter.com/gVj2GvrJBI
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) March 7, 2026
Separate footage showed the Aqdasiyeh Oil Depot in flames with Iranian first responders trying to create a perimeter around the inferno:
'آتشسوزی انبار نفت اقدسیه از فاصله نزدیک'
ویدیوی دریافتی از سوهانک، انتهای بزرگراه ارتش #تهران'
شنبه ۱۶ اسفند #Iran #Tehran pic.twitter.com/ikqloDGwbm
— Vahid Online (@Vahid) March 7, 2026
"Iran is being destroyed," declared British journalist Owen Jones.
In the wake of last week's attack, ordered by US President Donald Trump and carried out in conjunction with Israeli forces, the price of crude futures jumped by 35%, which CNBC characterized as "the biggest weekly gain in the history of the futures contract dating back to 1983."
On Friday, Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, told The Financial Times that crude prices could reach $150 per barrel in the coming weeks if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed to tanker traffic. Kaabi warned this could “bring down the economies of the world," though Trump has said he is not worried about gas prices, saying Thursday: "If they rise, they rise."
Meanwhile, others on Saturday shared video of a city streets of Tehran blazing with fire as oil from a destroyed depot flowed into sidewalks and sewer tunnels.
Spill of oil in the sewage system has created a flowing burning river in parts of #Tehran after oil depots were bombed earlier tonight, setting the streets in the Iranian capital on fire. pic.twitter.com/tHIFE6Z5EW
— Living in Tehran (LiT) (@LivinginTehran) March 8, 2026
"I don’t know how many times I can say this but my god," said Iranian political commentator Kev Joon in a social media post, describing what he was seeing as "apocalyptic," unprecedented, and intentionally cruel.
"I have never seen something like this," he added. "These are gutters and streams that run the sides of streets on almost every street and alley in Tehran. They are destroying a city in ways we haven’t witnessed before."
According to the New York Times:
Iran’s Ministry of Oil said in a statement that multiple oil storage depots in the provinces of Tehran and Alborz had been targeted.
The Israeli military confirmed in a statement that it had attacked several fuel storage and energy complexes in Tehran, saying the facilities were being used by Iran’s armed forces. Israel’s military called it a “significant strike” aimed at dismantling the military infrastructure of the government.
"What is happening tonight is that US and Israel are targeting oil depots and desalination plants," said Joon. "These aren’t military targets. They’re the infrastructure of everyday life. This isn’t a liberatory war. It’s an attempt to break the backs of Iranian people."
Keep ReadingShow Less
US Argues 'Emergency' of Iran War Means Israel Needs 20,000+ More Bombs Without Congressional Approval
'Who cares about Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and aggression?" asked one human rights expert.
Mar 07, 2026
The US State Department is hiding behind the war against Iran that was started by US President Donald Trump last week to justify an emergency order to ship more than 20,000 bombs—estimated at a value of $660 million—to Israel, skirting a pending approval process for the sale by Congress.
In a statement issued quietly on Friday night, the State Department said 12,000 BLU-110A/B general purpose, 1,000-pound bombs had been determined for approval, noting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has "provided detailed justification that an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale to the Government of Israel of the above defense articles and defense services is in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waiving the Congressional review requirements under Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act."
Not included in the statement, according to the New York Times, were additional parts of the sale that "include 10,000 bombs of 500 pounds each and 5,000 small-diameter bombs."
"This is an emergency of the Trump administration's own creation." —Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.)
According to the Times:
The State Department did not mention these details in the announcement, but two current US officials and a former, Josh Paul, who worked on weapons transfers at the State Department, said they were part of the emergency sale. The current officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive arms transactions.
This is the first time that the second Trump administration has formally declared an emergency, allowed under the Arms Export Control Act, to bypass Congress to sell arms to Israel. The administration has bypassed the informal approval process in Congress three times to sell arms or send weapons aid to Israel, but previously has not declared an emergency.
The push for the "emergency" arms sale comes as Israel pummels Lebanon with airstrikes, forcing an estimate 500,000 people or more in southern regions outside of Beirut to flee their homes. It also coincides with Israeli forces hitting targets in Iran alongside the US in what experts say is a wholly illegal attack on that country.
Rep. Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, denounced the move by the Rubio in a Friday statement.
“Today's invocation of the Arms Export Control Act's emergency authority to bypass congressional review for two munitions cases to Israel exposes a stark contradiction at the heart of this administration's case for war," said Meeks. "The Trump administration has repeatedly insisted it was fully prepared for this war. Rushing to invoke emergency authority to circumvent Congress tells a different story. This is an emergency of the Trump administration's own creation."
Others also questioned the emergency sale, especially given Israel's record of genocide in Gaza over the last two years and its pivotal role in pushing the Trump administration toward a war of choice with Iran.
Meeks, in his statement, argued that key questions about Trump's war in Iran remain unanswered.
"What is the endgame? What preparations have been made to protect American citizens in the region? And how much will this war cost the American people?" asked Meeks. "The administration has provided no credible answers. The American people deserve answers, and Congress must demand them.”
Keep ReadingShow Less
Rights Group Says Massacre at Iranian School—Likely by US—Should Be Investigated as 'War Crime'
"Trump loves putting his name on things, but this should be the only building for which he is remembered by history."
Mar 07, 2026
The bombing of a primary school by US-Israeli coalition forces in southern Iranian town of Minab that killed an estimated 160 or more civilians—mostly children—on February 28 should be investigated as a possible war crime, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.
After reviewing satellite footage from before and after the strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school—as well as reviewing video taken in the wake of the bombing and other materials—the international human rights group said the available evidence indicates "that the attack was carried out by highly accurate, guided munitions, rather than errant weapons whose guidance or propulsion systems failed or were otherwise disrupted and randomly struck the area."
The attack on the school would be among the deadliest war crimes against civilians by US forces in years. Occurring on the first day of bombings of what President Donald Trump and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dubbed Operation Epic Fury, the slaughter of schoolchildren—though the US has denied responsibility thus far—coincides with Hegseth repeatedly bragging that the US military would no longer follow "stupid rules of engagement" in the execution of its operations.
"The school was in use, and children were in attendance on the day of the attack," the group said. "Human Rights Watch found no evidence that would indicate that the school was being used for military purposes, though researchers were not able to speak to witnesses of the strikes, families of those killed, or other informed sources."
President Trump should hold Secretary Hegseth and everyone else responsible for killing Iranian children accountable, and bring this illegal, unnecessary war of choice to an end.”
According to HRW:
The United States should immediately assess its responsibility for this strike and make the findings public. If the US military carried out the strike, it should conduct a full investigation into the operational and policy failures that led it to strike a school, fully account for the civilian harm caused, hold those responsible accountable including through prosecution, and commit to changes that would ensure such failures will not be repeated in future operations.
Analyses of the bombing by various news outlets have provided strong evidence that US forces were the most likely culprits of the attack. HRW was told by an Israeli military spokesperson that it was “not aware of any [Israeli military] strikes in the area.” Hegseth said during a Wednesday press conference that the Pentagon was investigating the matter, but offered no further indication of concern in the matter.
During that same press briefing, as HRW notes in its analysis of the attack, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, said that US forces from the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group were providing “pressure” in preceding days along the “southeastern side" of the Iranian coast as he pointed to an area of a map showing coalition bombings that included Minab.
“A prompt and thorough investigation is needed into this attack, including if those responsible should have known that a school was there and that it would be full of children and their teachers before midday,” said Sophia Jones, open source researcher with the Digital Investigations Lab at Human Rights Watch. “Those responsible for an unlawful attack should be held to account, including prosecutions of anyone responsible for war crimes.”
“Allies of the US and Israel should insist on accountability for the Shajareh Tayyebeh school attack and for an end to attacks on civilian infrastructure in all of their operations across the region, before more civilians, including children, are unlawfully killed,” she added.
Human Rights Watch is not the only one demanding an independent investigation.
"This mass killing of children is unconscionable. It bears the hallmarks of a war crime," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Friday after a New York Times investigation found that US forces were likely behind the strike. "Trump and Hegseth must answer for the US's role and they must be held accountable. People deserve the full truth. There must be an immediate and transparent investigation."
On Friday, as Common Dreams reported, another school in Iran was struck by US-Israel bombings, bringing the total number of schools hit to four in the first six days of the unprovoked military attack.
"The American people do not want their tax dollars spent on killing children in Iran, just as they did not want their tax dollars spent on killing children in Gaza," said the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) in a statement. "The latest U.S.-Israel attacks on schools in Iran are blatant war crimes. So was the original slaughter of 180 schoolgirls that the Pentagon refuses to take responsibility for."
“Every child murdered or injured in these indiscriminate US-Israel bombing attacks is a sign that the Pentagon under Pete Hegseth is mimicking the tactics of the cowardly and genocidal Israeli military, which has mastered the art of bombing men, women, and children from afar," the group added. "The American people expect better from our armed forces. President Trump should hold Secretary Hegseth and everyone else responsible for killing Iranian children accountable, and bring this illegal, unnecessary war of choice to an end.”
While the war continues and Trump on Saturday said the people of Iran should expect bombing and destruction to increase not decrease over the weekend, voices for peace continued to demand a swift end to the violence and said the US president should forever be held responsible for unleashing such unnecessary bloodshed—including the specific devastation unleashed on the school in Minab.
"Trump loves putting his name on things, but this should be the only building for which he is remembered by history," said Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy, referencing the school where the massacre took place.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular