Juliana vs US / Geographical
PH. Robin Loznak/Our Children’s Trust
For the last year I have been following the story of 21 youths who are suing the US government.
Despite 50 years of awareness about the dangerous effects of green house gas emissions, the plaintiffs claim the government have affirmatively supported the fossil fuel industry and compromised their Constitutional rights to life, liberty and property.
On Oct 29th they were finally due to have their day in court. The court spectacle of diverse youths including musicians, indigenous communities and climate ambassadors who have marched across the nation and spoke in the UN was billed to be the “trial of the century.” A last minute intervention from the recently restructured Supreme Court delayed the trial – but the plaintiffs, their pro bono lawyers and citizens concerned about the impending climate crisis rallied outside court houses across the country.
In this article for Geographical magazine I interviewed other youth climate activists involved in direct action and litigation. I discovered that young people have an uncompromising vision for the drastic action needed to ensure intergenerational climate justice. And not just not their own long remaining lives, but for future generations too.
Read the article here.
