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Trusting the Process: A Progress Report on Our Children's Trust

Twenty-one young people who are suing the government over climate change
Our Children's Trust
Twenty-one young people are suing the federal government over climate change. When the lawsuit was filed in 2015, the youngest was 8-years-old and the oldest was 19.

For many, the landmark case filed in US district court back in 2015 called Juliana Vs. the United States, was at best the longest of longshots to try and force the government to change policy on climate change, and at worst, a frivolous lawsuit.

And many wrote the entire thing off as a publicity stunt and long ago forgot the whole thing.

But the case never went away. Sure, it’s had its challenges and setbacks, but, despite long odds, the case and the organization that supports it – Eugene’s Our Children’s Trust is still going strong and actually notching significant leader victories.

Today, on Oregon on the Record, we check back with Our Children’s trust Executive Director and chief Legal Counsel, Julia Olson, and hear about how the original case and the one’s it inspired are doing in state and federal courts. Many of the original plaintiffs have grown from kids to young adults, but they’ve never lost their passion to advocate on behalf of the planet they will inherent.

 Link: Our Children's Trust

Michael Dunne is the host of KLCC's Oregon Rainmakers podcast. Do you have a suggestion for an Oregon Rainmaker's guest or topic? Email Michael at mdunne@klcc.org.