Three young environmental activists are visiting Sandpoint, this Saturday, to talk about a pair of lawsuits challenging government to do more to combat climate change.
The trio is involved in two lawsuits filed by young people, ranging from age 9 to 21, that say the government has failed in a duty to protect young people from the ravages of climate change.
One suit is making its way through federal court in Oregon, another has been filed here in Washington State.
Twelve-year-old Adonis Williams, of Seattle, is one of the young men and is a plaintiff in the Washington suit. He says they feel they have no choice but to demand that Washington state come up with a real plan to cap carbon emissions:
“It’s not the younger generation’s fault, because we weren’t here when this was happening. We’re now here and having to solve this problem. It is their fault. There are definitely lots of people, lots of elders, lots of people in the middle, everybody on the spectrum are working and really care about the future, everybody who understands the urgency,”
Adonis is also working on a personal level to fight climate change through a Pacific Northwest chapter of Plant for the Planet, a group of over 100,000 who have planted more than 14 billion trees in over 130 countries.
Adonis will be joined by two other youth in Sandpoint, Idaho Saturday to discuss the lawsuits and efforts on how to take local action against climate change. The event will run from noon to 1:30PM at the Gardenia Center at 400 Church Street.
