By Susan Messer
Support Youth Plaintiffs in Missoula, Montana
On May 29, 2025, the lawyers at Our Children’s Trust (OCT) filed Lighthiser v. Trump, on behalf of 22 youth from Montana, Oregon, Hawai‘i, California, and Florida, asserting their constitutional rights to life, health, and safety. This youth-led constitutional rights lawsuit challenges three of the Trump administration’s recent Executive Orders, each of which has the capacity to intensify the climate crisis and worsen the youth plaintiffs’ climate-related health injuries.
The parties are now preparing for a two-day hearing on a preliminary injunction and the defendants’ motion to dismiss on September 16, 2025, and September 17, 2025, both at 9:00 a.m. This will be the first time ever that a federal court will hear live testimony in a constitutional climate case led by young people!
If you are going to be in Missoula or anywhere nearby on September 16 or 17, the brave young plaintiffs in this case are asking you to Join them on those two days from 7:15-9:00 am outside the courthouse for a peaceful rally to cheer them on as they walk into history, standing up for their rights to life and liberty!
Submit a Comment to Protect the Endangerment Finding
In 2009, as part of the Clean Air Act, the EPA implemented what is referred to as the Endangerment Finding regarding the dangers of greenhouse gases:
Endangerment Finding: The Administrator finds that the current and projected concentrations of the six key well-mixed greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)—in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.
Now, the Trump administration is ordering agencies to rescind the Endangerment Finding in order to stop quantifying greenhouse gas emissions and stop giving those emissions a dollar value.
A memo from the Office of Management and Budget states that “the calculation of the social cost of carbon is marked by logical deficiencies, a poor basis in empirical science, politicization, and the absence of a foundation in legislation." In the future, says this memo, “the circumstances where agencies will need to engage in monetized greenhouse gas emission analysis will be few to none.”
What can you do? Before September 22, you can submit a written comment to the EPA, letting them know what you think about their view of climate science and this proposed action. For guidance on submitting a comment in support of the Endangerment Finding, please follow this link: submitting a comment.
Celebrate Sun Day
Sun Day is a national day of action that will take place on September 21, 2025, celebrating solar and wind power, and the movement to leave fossil fuels behind. This “Day” is sponsored by Third Act, a national organization “determined to change the world for the better.” To quote founder and environmentalist Bill McKibben, “Third Act is . . . designed to get people over the age of 60 working to defend our climate and to defend our democracy. We started organizing Third Act because we started to understand how much power those of us over the age of 60 possess.”
To quote the organizers, the “clean energy revolution is here. Solar, wind and batteries are the cheapest form of power on the planet, lowering costs, creating new jobs, and strengthening our communities. But some politicians and industries are trying to hold it back. On Sep 21, we’ll celebrate the progress we’ve made and push for more. We’ll install new solar, host e-bike parades, give heat pump tours, and rally for change. Together, we’ll make the sun rise on our clean energy future.”
Check this link to find an event near you. Check this link if you or your group would like to organize one.