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.
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.
Young People in Alaska Defend Their Constitutional Rights Before the Alaska Supreme Court
On March 4th, 2026, young people in Alaska stood before the Alaska Supreme Court to defend their constitutional rights in Sagoonick v. State of Alaska II, urging the Court to reverse a lower court decision that dismissed their youth-led climate case.
Despite the below-freezing temperatures, Anchorage community members gathered to hold signs and cheer on the plaintiffs during their walk to the courthouse. The supporters joined the youth in the courtroom, filling in the seats behind them.
Alaska Native Youth Take Their State to Court to Stop the Alaska LNG Megaproject and Protect Their Futures
In a landmark climate case, eight young people across Alaska filed Sagoonick v. State of Alaska II to stop the massive LNG (liquified natural gas) project that threatens their homes, futures, and the sacred lands their people have stewarded for thousands of years. At a time when climate pollution must be rapidly reduced to avoid further climate harms to Alaska’s youth, the Alaska LNG Project would more than triple Alaska’s climate pollution for decades to come.
Be present. Bear witness. Show that children’s lives matter.
Last week, the wind outside my house reached nearly 60 miles per hour. The rain was loud. The thunder was close. Storms like that are not normal for this time of year where I live in Los Angeles. A few weeks ago, it was cold. Soon it will be extremely hot. This is what it feels like to be young right now: unpredictable, uncertain, and a little frightening.
My name is Genesis. I am 19 years old, Afro-Indigenous and Mexican, and I have spent most of my life standing up for my community, for myself, and for our planet.