America’s Promise Still Matters
In 1777, John Adams (our second President) wrote to his wife Abigail about the freedom they had declared for future generations:
"Posterity! You will never know, how much it cost the present Generation, to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good Use of it."
Rest assured, the youth today are making good use of it, John Adams.
Six Generations. One Promise Still Worth Fighting For.
I am the sixth generation of my family to call Montana home. My great great great grandma came to Montana on a wagon in 1866, and my family has been in Montana ever since. From my family, I’ve learned to love this place and become aware of our human connection to the land.
Protecting the environment, protecting our home, is a Montanan value that has never lost its strength. The belief that nature belongs to all of us is ingrained in our hearts, our communities, and even our state constitution. Preserving nature has never been a political issue: it’s always been a common value among Montanans regardless of party.
The Promise My Mom Fought for, I Now Carry Forward
My mom came to the United States from San Martín Huamelulpam, a small pueblo in Oaxaca, México, more than 35 years ago. She came because she was told, by family, by friends, by the news, that America was the place to go to build something better. She came for opportunity. She came for the dream that so many immigrants are promised when they make that journey. She came for what this country calls life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. She believed those words were meant for her too.
From the Courtroom to the Council: Rylee Brooke's Story
I was 7 years old when my mom and I found a Hawaiian green sea turtle wrapped in fishing line on the beach.
I started crying. I wanted to help, but because the turtle was an endangered species, there were laws about how close we could get. My mom called NOAA, and they sent people out to help detangle the turtle from the line.
Two Years Later: Hawaiʻi’s Climate Settlement Moves from Vision to Implementation
Two years ago, thirteen youth plaintiffs, represented by Our Children’s Trust and Earthjustice, brought the state to the brink of trial in Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT). Ultimately, the Director of HDOT chose collaboration over confrontation. The settlement that followed was the first of its kind in the United States, committing Hawaiʻi to reaching zero emissions from ground, marine, and interisland air travel by 2045.
Hawai’i Makes Its Future So
I was in grad school doing my usual Saturday used-bookstore perusal when I stumbled upon Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World Revisited. In this work of non-fiction, Huxley compared the fictional future he put forth in Brave New World and the fictional future envisioned by George Orwell in 1984 to the real world of the late 1950s. These two different views of the future stemmed from a similar starting point in the tumultuous first half of the 20th century.
The Right to Be Yourself Requires a Safe Climate
Before a young person can dream about who they will become, they must first know they have a future in which to become it. A future with clean air and safe water. A future where they can speak freely. And a future where they walk through the world as their authentic selves without fear.
The Court Told Us to Come Back Later. We Are Out of Time.
I am one of 22 young Americans suing President Trump. I didn't want to have to sue the president as a teenager, but he left us no other choice.
We are students, ranchers, scientists-in-training, artists, and athletes. We come from Montana, Oregon, Hawai'i, California, and Florida, from different places and different backgrounds, but we share one thing: we followed their rules to protect our rights, and the courts still slammed the door on us.
Children Are Already Being Harmed: Dr. Elizabeth Pinsky Stands with Venner v. EPA Youth
Over decades of clinical practice, research, and national advocacy, Dr. Elizabeth Pinsky has seen firsthand what the science consistently confirms: fossil fuel emissions don't just warm the planet; they harm our children.
Dr. Pinsky is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and pediatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital. She trained at Harvard Medical School and has developed deep expertise in the care of children and young people who have experienced severe trauma, including the growing toll of climate-related harm.
Youth Petitioner M.D. Shares How the EPA is Violating Her Rights to Free Exercise of Religion
M.D. (a minor) is a young Muslim woman from Orange County, California. She loves her faith and tries to live it fully—but a worsening climate is making that harder every year. The heat and air pollution that come with more gas-powered vehicles on the road are forcing her to choose between observing her religious practices, including wearing hijab and fasting during Ramadan, and protecting her health.
Hawai’i Youth Stands for States’ Rights in Petitioner Declaration
N.N. is a youth petitioner in Venner v. EPA, a constitutional petition asking a federal court to reverse and vacate EPA's rule rescinding the 2009 Endangerment Finding (Repeal Rule), which for more than 15 years recognized that greenhouse gas pollution threatens public health and welfare, and challenging the rollback of vehicle emission standards that have been in place since 2012.
Elena Venner: “My life, my faith, and my future are harmed by the Repeal Rule.”
When Elena Venner breathes in polluted air, she feels it in her chest. She has asthma, and something as basic as breathing, she says, is no longer guaranteed.
Elena is the lead petitioner in Venner v. EPA, a youth-led constitutional petition asking a federal court to reverse and vacate EPA's rule rescinding the 2009 Endangerment Finding (Repeal Rule), a landmark determination that greenhouse gas pollution threatens public health and welfare, and simultaneously eliminating all greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and trucks.
Growing Up with La Rose: A Mother’s Day Reflection with Andrea Rodgers
My daughter was asked to leave the courtroom while I was arguing a case.
She was six months old, and her dad was holding her in the back of the room. Unfamiliar with court etiquette, she kept calling out “Hi!” with a big smile on her face, her small voice echoing off the walls.
From the bench, the judge said, “The baby in the back is really adorable, but can you guys please leave the courtroom?”
That moment stayed with me. Not because it was unusual, but because of what it revealed about where children were allowed to be and where they were not. I spent much of my early legal career working in Indian country, where it was pretty common to have children and youth in governmental decision spaces.
Turning Rights into Action: Empowering Hawaiʻi’s Next Generation
Fewer than 5% of the students we met this spring knew that Hawaiʻi's Constitution guarantees every person the right to a clean and healthful environment. That number stayed with us — not as a failure of civics education, but as an opportunity. Because once students learned that right existed, something shifted in the room.
Miko Vergun, Lighthiser v. Trump Plaintiff, Declares: “This is a Great Time to Have Hope”
On Monday, April 13th, Miko Vergun walked into the Ninth Circuit Courthouse in Portland—not as a bystander—but as a plaintiff in a landmark constitutional climate case.
Lighthiser v. Trump is unlike anything that has come before it. Miko and her 21 fellow plaintiffs are challenging President Trump’s pro-fossil fuel executive orders that “unleash” fossil fuels, block renewable energy development, suppress critical climate science, and worsen the climate crisis. They’re asking the court to let their case move forward and be heard on the merits.
Lighthiser v. Trump Youth Urge the Ninth Circuit to Reinstate their Constitutional Climate and Right to Life Case
On April 13, 2026, youth plaintiffs from across the country appeared before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Lighthiser v. Trump, which challenges President Trump’s pro-fossil fuel executive orders that “unleash” fossil fuels, block renewable energy development, suppress critical climate science, and exacerbate the climate crisis.
Patience in a Time of Urgency: Sadie Vipond Has Waited 7 Years for Trial
As Sadie Vipond sits on the bank of the Bow River, she recounts the 2013 flooding that occurred when she was 8 years old. “The magnitude of this flood was partially caused due to climate change making extreme weather events more damaging.” Her family had to evacuate, unsure if they’d ever see their home again. “That really scared me and made me feel anxious for the future. It led me to notice environmental impacts happening around me.”
Delaney Reynolds is Trailblazing a Path to Change
History is shaped by choices. These choices are often born from responding to the world’s needs or recognizing the possibility of a better future. Women’s history has often required an additional choice: not just to step forward, but to step out of the status quo and the box generations of women have been put in that requires them to remain passive and take a backseat to other leaders.
Katherine McIntosh is Leading Towards a Better Future
Countless women throughout history have made a lasting impact on those around them, whether in their homes, their communities, or across the world. Through their courage, leadership, and determination, women have helped shaped the world we live in today. Today, women and girls continue that legacy as they trailblaze toward the future and work to create a brighter, more just world.
California Youth Argue Their Constitutional Climate Case Before the Ninth Circuit
On March 5th, 2026, eighteen California children and youth appeared before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to argue their constitutional climate case, Genesis v. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During oral arguments, they asked the Court to reverse a lower court dismissal that prevented them from presenting evidence at trial showing how EPA’s policies discriminate against children in regulating climate pollution.