This week a judge in Montana, of all places, took a small step for clean, healthier air. It took a bunch of kids, with the help of some adults to make it happen. The case was called Held v. The State of Montana. It was brought by Our Children’s Trust on behalf of a group of young people ranging in age from five to twenty-two. It was the first of its kind to go to trial in the United States back in June. The suit claimed the state’s support of the fossil fuel industry was contributing to climate change violating their constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment. Yes, that right was written into the Montana state constitution in 1972. It says, “All persons are born free and have certain inalienable rights. They include the right to a clean and healthful environment.” The original document was written in 1889 and influenced by the powerful copper and coal industries. The state’s policy says it can’t consider climate change when issuing new permits for fossil fuel projects. Basically, letting these industries pollute all they want.
There are sixteen kids in the plaintiff’s group. Rikki Held was eighteen in 2020. She grew up on a ranch where climate change made it difficult to maintain a water supply. The youngest child is identified as Nathaniel K. His parents say he suffers from respiratory problems caused by climate change. The governor and the attorney general did everything they could to stop the suit. They asked the state Supreme Court to take the case away from the trial judge Kathy Seeley. The court said no. They wanted to interview five year old Nathaniel. The court said no. In her ruling, Judge Seeley found the state’s emissions “have proven to be a substantial factor” in affecting climate change. She ruled that laws limiting regulator’s ability to consider climate effect were unconditional.
The Executive Director of Our Children’s Trust Julia Olson said, “This is huge for Montana, for youth, for democracy and for our climate.” The state has sixty days to appeal. A spokesperson for Attorney General Austin Knudsen said, “Montanans can’t be blamed for changing the climate. Their same legal theory has been thrown out in federal court and courts in more than a dozen states.” The state actually argued that Montana’s emissions are minuscule when considered against the rest of the globe. Polluters all over the world could argue they are only a tiny part of the problem. Go bother someone else.
Legal experts like Harvard Law School Professor Richard Lazarus said this is the first time a U.S. court has ruled against a government for violating a constitutional right based on climate change. While the right is not in the U.S. Constitution, Lazarus said, “it is still clearly a major, pathbreaking win for climate plaintiffs.” The Montana legislature is controlled by conservative Republicans who will do everything they can to delay and change the state’s policy that is filling their air with deadly poison.
Man made climate change is crashing down on us every day. Every day we refuse to do something, we get a day closer to hell on earth for our children and grandchildren. This victory for the children should rouse us all to fight for our future and their’s.
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