Photo by David Morris on Unsplash
Finally, the youth have great news on the environmental front, as teen activists for a healthful environment have scored a major victory in the state of Montana. In the June 19 issue of AGREEN1, we shared that 16 young plaintiffs would be pleading their case before a Montana state judge on August 14.
Their claim stated that Montana was negligent in enforcing the environmental protections granted to them in the Montana Constitution:
(1) The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations.
(2) The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty.
(3) The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.
Their victory created a court order. District Court Judge Kathy Seely ruled that permits for fossil fuel projects must require environmental impact analysis and GHG emission calculations to adhere to the state’s Constitution.
Well done to those forward-leaning planet activists!