Federal Judge OKs Kids' Lawsuit Against Climate Change

Federal Court Rules On Climate Change In Favor Of Today's Children

James Conca, April 10, 2016 (Forbes)

“In the first lawsuit to involve a planet, [Oregon Federal Court Judge Thomas Coffin ruled] in favor of twenty-one plaintiffs, ages 8 to 19, on behalf of future generations of Americans in a landmark constitutional climate change case brought against the Federal Government and the Fossil Fuel Industry…The lawsuit alleges that the Federal Government is violating the Plaintiffs’ constitutional and public trust rights by promoting the use of fossil fuels…[Judge Coffin wrote that ‘Plaintiffs give this debate justiciability by asserting harms that befall or will befall them personally and to a greater extent than older segments of society…[T]he intractability of the debates before Congress and state legislatures and the alleged valuing of short-term economic interest despite the cost to human life, necessitates a need for the courts to evaluate the constitutional parameters of the action or inaction taken by the government…’ Most importantly, the judge unequivocally rejected all arguments raised by the Federal Government and the Fossil Fuel Industry in their Motions to Dismiss that sought to deny the youth their fundamental rights under the constitution and public trust doctrine…” click here for more

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