These young people got the green light to sue the government over climate change

A group of 21 young people — ranging from ages 9 to 20 — are taking their environmentalism to an admirable level. A court ruled on November 10th that these kids can sue the federal government over climate change. The activists in Oregon are charging President Obama, the fossil fuel industry, and other federal agencies for not doing enough about the climate change crisis.

The ruling in Eugene, Oregon means that the climate change lawsuit the kids filed was found as valid, and denied the federal government and fossil fuel industry’s motion to dismiss it. So not only are these young people our heroes, but so is U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken, who wrote in her ruling:

"Federal courts too often have been cautious and overly deferential in the arena of environmental law, and the world has suffered for it."

Right on, Judge Aiken!

Another good thing to know about this case is that when Donald Trump is sworn in as president in 2017, he’ll automatically become a defendant, too, according to CNN. This is extremely important because, while Hillary Clinton had vowed to make climate change a priority, Trump’s views on the environment — to put it gently — have varied.

No matter where Trump stands, the person he charged with running his Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition team is a climate change denier, so it’s ESSENTIAL that the president-elect is part of this case.

These young people are also being assisted by climate scientist James Hansen in their pursuit of environmental justice. And with Judge Aiken’s ruling, the lawsuit will most likely go to court in Oregon in 2017.

While we don’t know what the outcome will be, this lawsuit represents the public’s desire for the government to take action against climate change.

And perhaps they will see some success, even in a Trump presidency. We’re hopeful since the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA had the ability to regulate greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change in 2007 based on a lawsuit. So environmental change is possible through the court of law.

We applaud this advocacy group made up of young people and hope that their stance can make an improvement on this beautiful Earth of ours. Go green!