Youth v. Gov.

What were you doing at 18? I was sneaking into a club to dance the night away. At 14, I remember being in Poland at a bonfire with my aunt and grandparents. And at 11? I have no clue what I was doing —but I can confidently tell you, I wasn’t doing anything close to what the Juliana plaintiffs are doing.

What is the Juliana plaintiffs group, or rather who are they? They are 21 plaintiffs that make up the Juliana group ranging from age 11 to 23 and each have a personal reason for fighting climate change. These young activists have put their own lives on hold for the notion of the greater good. They’ve taken semesters off school, quit jobs, traveled to educate others, all in the name of a healthy planet to live on.

Why is their case unique? The Juliana plaintiffs have claimed a clean planet a constitutional right. And while most attorneys assumed they’d get laughed out of court, 3.5 years later, they’re still in the game. First suing the Obama administration, they’re now suing the Trump administration for contributing to climate change.

In October, with the release of the frightening UN report on climate change, we learned that we have only ten years left to save us from a ‘climate catastrophe’. We’re already seeing the effects, and the California’s wildfires, the decimating Caribbean hurricanes, and rising ocean levels are just the beginning.

These kids are terrified of their existence on this planet. The groups message reached Davos this year when Greta Thunberg, a Swedish 16 year old plaintiff and Time 100 powerfully demanded ‘I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic’.

The group is mainly funded through grassroots donations. Please consider a donation here.

xx Violet