© Andres Rueda/Creative Commons
Love the idea, not sure it will succeed: Lawsuits have been filed in several states by climate activists, attempting to declare the atmosphere a public trust and force the US to meaningfully act on climate change. Previously such an approach has been used to clean up polluted waterways, but success here will likely depend on a judge will to break new ground.
The suits were filed in California, Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. Additional legal action is planned for Alaska, Arizona, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
Writing in The Guardian, 16 year old Alex Loorz, listed as plaintiff in the California suit, writes:
Our parents' and grandparents' generation have created a problem. They've developed a society that depends on burning fossil fuels, like coal and oil, to survive. They never realized that there were any huge consequences to running our lives with fossil fuels. But now, we do.
Today, I and other fellow young people are sueing the government, for handing over our future to unjust fossil fuel industries, and ignoring the right of our children to inherit the planet that has sustained all of civilization. I will join with youth and attorneys in every state in the US to demand that our leaders to live and govern as if our future matters.
The government has a legal responsibility to protect the future for our children. So we are demanding that they recognize the atmosphere as a commons that needs to be preserved, and commit to a plan to reduce emissions to a safe level.
