News/Commentary

‘Welcome to Clown World’: 16 kids sue Montana for ‘first children’s climate trail in US history’

October 6, 2022 | | Print Article

Using children to make complex political points is and always has been nauseating, but ever since little Greta Thunberg began wagging her finger at adults, grown-ups on the left have been acting like toddlers care about the effect of carbon emissions and actually may have something salient to say on the matter. Well, now Montana is being sued by a group of kids — one of them just two years old when the lawsuit was filed — for the state’s alleged role in the climate crisis, claiming their constitutional rights have been violated.

The case, brought by 16 children ranging in age from two to 18, was first filed in March 2020 and is set to be heard in June 2023, according to the Daily Mail. It marks “the first children’s climate trial in U.S. history,” the outlet reports.

The wee activists aren’t demanding money from the state. Should the court rule in their favor, the kids — none of whom have a fully formed prefrontal cortex — claim in the filing that they want the defendants to “bring the state energy system into constitutional compliance.”

And really, if we’re all being honest, what child doesn’t long for constitutional compliance in the state energy system?

The climate crisis, the children claim, disproportionately impacts kids. It “harms their physical and psychological health and safety, interferes with family and cultural foundations and integrity, and causes economic deprivations,” they argue in the suit.

The lawsuit “also includes how each child has been personally impacted by the climate crisis such how wildfires pose a threat to the youngest who has respiratory issues and another whose family relies on a river for their business that has dried up in past years,” the Daily Mail reports.

Nathaniel, now four years old, was in his terrible twos when he joined the lawsuit. He charges that the length and severity of Montana’s fire season is a result of the state’s ongoing use of fossil fuel. Climate change, manifesting as wildfires, has aggravated his respiratory issues and forced him to spend most of his toddler time indoors rather than outside in the arms of Mother Nature.

And his is just one of 16 stories of personal hardships made worse by the changing climate that the court will hear.

Nate Bellinger, Senior Staff Attorney at Our Children’s Trust and co-counsel for the plucky plaintiffs, is positively giddy over the upcoming trial.

“Trial preparations have been ongoing for months and we are very excited to have new trial dates confirmed for next June,” he said in a Tuesday statement. “This trial will be an historic opportunity for these 16 young Montanans, and their experts, to testify in open court about how the state of Montana’s historic and ongoing promotion of fossil fuels is causing plaintiffs grave injuries, and the urgent need for judicial intervention.”

“As climate destructions mount with each passing month, it has never been more important for youth-led constitutional climate cases, such as this one, to have their day in court,” he continued. “Next June, the eyes of the world will be on Montana.”

The children’s constitutionally-protected “public trust resources,” such as rivers, lakes, fish, wildlife, and the atmosphere, have been degraded and depleted by Montana’s fossil fuel energy system, the suit contends, and 14-year old Mica is anxious to be heard on the matter.

“I am eager to have our day in court so all of the plaintiffs’ voices can be heard,” he said in an eloquent statement. “Young people will be the ones to suffer the most if Montana continues the promotion of fossil fuels and I hope our trial will help turn our future for the better.”

Online, most see the lawsuit for what it is: An attempt by liberal adults to use indoctrinated children to push their self-serving agenda.

“Welcome to Clown World,” said one Twitter user. “The children range in age from 2 to 18. Yes a 2 year old has filed a law suit.”

“WHERE TO BEGIN…” another fumed. “The adults promoting this, all need their a**es handed to them. TELL THE CHILDREN, ALL YOUR POSSESSIONS, ARE MADE OUT OF OIL.”

“How stupid is this,” asked a third. “I guess it makes sense that stupid adults started out as stupid children.”

“Ultimately, it is up to each person to figure out what is truth and what is propaganda,” the user noted. “So many people can’t tell the difference.”

Melissa Fine
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