Katherine McIntosh is Leading Towards a Better Future
March 27, 2026
By Emily Miller
Katherine McIntosh, lead youth plaintiff in McIntosh v. Pennsylvania DEP.
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.
Katherine McIntosh is the lead appellant in McIntosh v. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, an appeal challenging a permit for the Homer City Redevelopment project, which seeks to build one of the nation’s largest gas-fired power plants to power a 3,200-acre data center campus in Homer City, PA. The permit allows the plant to emit 17.5 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, worsening the climate crisis and its impacts in Pennsylvania and threatening the health and safety of Katherine and her fellow youth appellants.
Even at a young age, our lead plaintiffs and appellants are already carving their mark on history and leading the fight for justice. This Women’s History Month, we are honored to spotlight some of these courageous young women.
What inspired you to join the case, and what did the responsibility of lead plaintiff mean to you?
I felt inspired to join the case as my hometown of Bethlehem, PA has been home to and polluted by big corporations and heavy industry, and I hoped to be a part of the push back, particularly to the highly destructive expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure to power AI data centers. As lead appellant, it has been a very motivating position, to bring community together, and motivate others towards the common cause of protecting our Commonwealth and our Earth.
What does it mean to you to be a young woman speaking up for climate justice?
I believe we all have a responsibility to take care of our planet, and the care of mother Earth is as important as our own care. As a woman, I feel it is a necessity to speak up about all injustices, including the great injustice of our government taking action that degrades our environment and harms my fellow Pennsylvanians. Pennsylvania’s Constitution guarantees my co-appellants and I a fundamental right to clean air, pure water, and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic value of the environment, and the DEP is obligated to preserve the Commonwealth’s environment and natural resources for present and future generations and is prohibited from taking actions like issuing the permit for the Homer City gas plant that degrades the Commonwealth’s environment.
Who is a woman—past or present—who has influenced the way you think about courage, leadership, or justice? What about her inspires you?
As a child, I looked up to the incredible Jane Goodall as I learned about not only her research, but her display of the deep connection between humans and nature. Jane Goodall reminded the world during her work with chimpanzees, that what we label “wild” animals and “wild” nature are alive with personality and love. And we forget that we too are animals and a part of nature. Jane Goodall was a woman of courage, demonstrated our fundamental and inseparable connection to the natural world, and shared the message that we must protect the environment for not only ourselves as a species, but for all of the Earth's creatures.
Katherine McIntosh enjoying the outdoors.
Outside of the lawsuit, what are the things that bring you joy or help keep you grounded?
My mother always took me walking and hiking, and those activities bring me great joy. Being outside brings me a peace I cannot find anywhere else. Whether walking my dogs in my neighborhood and seeing spring's first flowers, or hiking along the Appalachian Mountains, I am reminded of and delighted by the Earth's never-ending beauty. I take great pride in the fact that my state’s constitution guarantees that the benefits of using and enjoying Pennsylvania’s environment and natural resources belong to all people, including future generations, and I hope future generations are able to enjoy and take refuge in nature the same way that I have.
What message would you share with girls or young women who care about climate change but aren’t sure how to make a difference?
I would like all young women and girls to never forget or lose their own connection with nature, as it is a part of our resistance to a society which increasingly alienates us from our natural world. Every time you smile in the sun or share your love for the shape of the clouds, or clean up after yourself or others outdoors, or move a worm from being crushed on the sidewalk, you are taking care of the Earth and yourself.