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Halt to Youth Climate Lawsuit Inspires Nationwide Resistance

Halt to Youth Climate Lawsuit Inspires Nationwide Resistance
Wed, 10/31/2018 - by Alexandra Jacobo
This article originally appeared on Nation of Change

This week should have been the start to the three-year-long landmark youth climate trial against the federal government, deemed the “trial of the century.” Instead, the Supreme Court halted the case in response to a last-ditch effort by the Trump administration to kill the case.

Now the rest of the country is responding to the disgraceful decision. The 21 youth plaintiffs of the case, Juliana v. United States, have been joined by thousands across the country the past several days to “keep our government accountable for the effects of climate change.”

Leonardo DiCaprio tweeted: "I stand in solidarity with @youthvgov today as they coordinate rallies across the nation to keep our government accountable for the effects of climate change. Find your local rally: http://www.youthvgov.org/october29."

Nearly 100 events were scheduled on Sunday and Monday across 41 states. The main cities that were host to the largest included San Francisco, New York City, Portland, Washington, DC, Seattle, Colorado Springs and St. Paul.

The central rally took place at the Wayne Morse Federal Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon, where the trial was set to take place and attracted a crowd of 1,500, including 500 students that walked out of nearby schools.

350.org tweeted on Monday: "HAPPENING NOW: 500 students just arrived after walking out of every high school in Eugene and U of O. Huge spirited crowd of 1500, braving occasional rain as youth perform spoken word."

The three-year-long case has survived countless obstacles. Just this past summer the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the case could proceed, then turned around last week with a change of heart, which many attribute to the recent appointment of new justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“Our constitutional democracy allows us to protect our liberty without declaring independence from our government, so long as those who govern assent to review by our courts and let the facts be told,” Julia Olson, executive director of Our Children’s Trust and co-counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a press release.

“These young people deserve that chance to present their case against those who govern and let the light fall where it may.”

Originally published by Nation of Change

 

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