Montana Adolescents Fight Climate Change

Did you know that around 27,000 trees are cut down each day? Trees turn carbon dioxide into oxygen which allows us to breathe. Without trees, oxygen cannot be made. 

The climate and life on this planet are very important and necessary for everything to live and thrive and sadly, that is slowly being taken away. Unfortunately, most do not know the full scope of the issue or do not think things can change, however, a small group of Montana adolescents has banded together to make a start. During the summer of 2023, 16 kids, aged 5-22, went to court about this growing and worrying issue. The case first came up in 2020 but was dismissed by the Ninth Circuit Appeals. The kids’ attorneys then amended the dismissal and the trial was allowed to continue.

One main focus of their case was greenhouse gasses. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, greenhouse gasses are “Gasses that trap heat in the atmosphere…” These include Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, and Fluorinated gasses which can stay in the atmosphere for, on average, thousands of years and sometimes more. Humans have significantly impacted the amount of greenhouse gasses that have been released into the atmosphere and one of the most significant causes of this is the burning of fossil fuels and the processing of fossil fuels by companies. Luckily, humans have become more aware of this, and Carbon Dioxide emissions have gone down within the last 20 years by 2%. However, many people, including the 16 kids who took this issue to court, feel that this is not enough.

According to the Montana State’s Constitution, written in Article 2, in Section 3, it says, “ They [the citizens of Montana] include the right to a clean and healthful environment…” The Environmental Protections Agency, Our Children’s Trust, and Montana Courts say that this was one center point of the group’s plight, saying that the state of Montana was violating the citizens’ constitutional rights because fossil fuel companies were not considering the impact that their choices have on the future of, not only our state, but also our country and the world due to the number of emissions greenhouse gasses give off which causes severe global warming, which can ruin the atmosphere, cause the melting of polar ice, and can harm different habitats. 

During their time in court, the group was represented by attorneys who worked with Our Children’s Trust. According to their website, Our Children’s Trust is a non-profit organization that supplies children with legal assistance for different efforts and struggles, specifically for the climate which is defined by scientific research. The website says that they do this through media, education, public engagement, and so much more. All of their legal work is constitutional and trusted by the public and by human rights laws and the laws of nature to fix different issues at global levels. Our Children’s Trust chose to support the Montanan youths in this endeavor because of what they support and are fighting for, a better climate for the future, which is exactly why they helped these Montana Adolescents.