Oregon federal judge Ann Aiken has ruled that a climate lawsuit brought against the U.S. government by a group of youths can move forward, a win for the strategy of fighting climate change through the judicial branch.
Our Children’s Trust, an Oregon-based non-profit, has filed lawsuits in every state and at the federal level, claiming that the U.S. government’s actions to address climate change have been inadequate and are endangering young people throughout the country. Fossil fuel companies and the U.S. government filed to have the federal lawsuit dismissed, and their requests were roundly denied, as Judge Aiken found the group’s complaints to be valid.
Aiken wrote in her decision, “There is no contradiction between promising other nations the United States will reduce C02 emissions and a judicial order directing the United States to go beyond its international commitments to more aggressively reduce C02 emissions.”
The lawsuit is based on the idea of the public trust, which says that the U.S. government must protect common held elements, like waterways and coastlines, for the public. Under the public trust doctrine, the lawsuit argues, the U.S. government must also protect the commonly held atmosphere — and by taking inadequate action to address climate change, they argue, the government is failing to protect the public trust.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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