And, by “you” I mean the individuals and institutions that have shepherded civilization, and even our entire species, to the very brink of collapse and near extinction, motivated by greed and guided by ignorance.
And, in particular, this group of children are coming for that group of bad guys:
Juliana v. U.S.
From the law suit itself:
1. For over fifty years, the United States of America has known that carbon dioxide (“CO2”) pollution from burning fossil fuels was causing global warming and dangerous climate change, and that continuing to burn fossil fuels would destabilize the climate system on which present and future generations of our nation depend for their wellbeing and survival. Defendants also knew the harmful impacts of their actions would significantly endanger Plaintiffs, with the damage persisting for millennia. Despite this knowledge, Defendants continued their policies and practices of allowing the exploitation of fossil fuels. Specifically, Department of Energy has approved the export of liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) from the Jordan Cove LNG terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon. This export terminal will be the largest projected source of CO2 emissions in Oregon, and will significantly increase the harm that Defendants’ actions are causing to Plaintiffs. Defendants’ have long-standing knowledge of the cumulative danger that their aggregate actions are causing Plaintiffs. The Jordan Cove project enhances the cumulative danger caused by Defendants affirmative aggregate actions.
2. In a 1965 White House Report on “Restoring the Quality of Our Environment,” for example, the President’s Science Advisory Committee stated: “The land, water, air and living things of the United States are a heritage of the whole nation. They need to be protected for the benefit of all Americans, both now and in the future. The continued strength and welfare of our nation depend on the quantity and quality of our resources and on the quality of the environment in which our people live.”
3. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) in 1990 and the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment in 1991 prepared plans to significantly reduce …. (READ THE REST HERE)
Just now, this law suit, which has been vigorously opposed up to now, has advanced to trial.
Today, Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas, writing for a unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s “drastic and extraordinary” petition for writ of mandamus in the landmark climate lawsuit, Juliana v. United States, brought by 21 youth supported by Our Children’s Trust. The Court ruled that the Juliana case can proceed toward trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and that the Trump administration had not satisfied the factors necessary for an extraordinary writ of mandamus. The three-judge panel consisted of Chief Judge Sidney Thomas, and Circuit Judges Marsha Berzon and Michelle Friedland. Judge Friedland replaced Alex Kozinski on the panel after he resigned on December 18, 2017, one week after oral argument washeld on the petition.
Read the entire press release HERE
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I am so awed by the youth of today.
Young people have a lot more power than they usually apply to social problems. They also are prone to being misled by charismatic charlatans and mis- and disinformation campaigns. As a former science teacher I’ve seen both sides of the young.
Related comment, in regards to the complaints (from the right, naturally) that teens like those from Florida are too “media savvy” to be anything but trained actors.
These kids have grown up around (and, for some forms, with) on–line media. Twitter, facebook, youtube, and all the ones I’m probably ignorant of are everyday tools for many, if not most or all of them. If you’re comfortable in front of a cell phone recording video to distribute, you’re going to be comfortable in front of a real camera. Having intelligent responses, and informed opinions comes from other places (education), but I’m not surprised at all with their familiarity with media.
I too am in awe of this new generation.
Part of it, no doubt, is due to the greatly increased information about the world and themselves that they have received via internet and cell phone.
But part too may be due ( let me tune up my one string banjo here) to the greatly decreased exposure to things like lead, cadmium, and mercury that the latest generation has received relative to earlier generations. Lead was banned in paint (1978) and in gasoline (1985). Fluoride treatments have greatly reduced dental cavities, with resulting reduction in the use of amalgam fillings in children’s teeth which, incidentally, less than half of dentists still use. Cadmium plated hardware is no longer used in the home. The ever present fragile, breakable mercury medical thermometer is nearly extinct in the home and in hospitals. Only the stupidest of science teachers still have mercury barometers in their class rooms. Lead is banned from toys. Men and women much more rarely work in environments that expose them lead and mercury, further reducing prenatal exposures. Suburban homes no longer have “burning barrels” or incinerators in their back yards to use to burn combustible waste streams containing things like paper printed with cadmium inks or broken mercury thermometers like they once did.
Heavy metals, as you may know, wreak havoc in the developing brain. So we have a generation that is enjoying the fruits of environmental, occupational and consumer product regulation. Hopefully they will live longer, prosper more, and reach greater intellectual potential than other generations could have, and will overturn the backward, short sighted policies of the whining, anti-regulatory, stumble bum crews, in whose defense I say, your brain lead levels are showing, you poor things.