Held v Montana
Has your football practice ever been canceled because of wildfires? Have you ever been unable to attend school as a result of excessive smoke pollution? Did you spend your vacation from school and weekend at home, afraid to go out with friends, out of fear of getting sick? For these 16 courageous Montana youths, the answer to all of the above is a clear and definitive yes. These 16 plaintiffs ages 2-18 have decided to stand up to the State and hold them accountable for their role in the global climate crisis. Held v Montana is a historic trial for the United States of America, not only as the first climate lawsuit to go to trial, but also as the first youth-led climate lawsuit to go to trial.
For these 16 Montana youths, it started with occurrences as mundane as their daily schedules, hobbies, and time out being hindered by the ever-present wildfires plaguing Montana. Mica Kantor, one of the public faces of the Held v Montana plaintiffs, was tired of seeing natural resources depleted and the impact it has on the well-known slopes of Montana which he frequents. Kian T was tired of his football practices constantly being hindered because of excessive smoke inhalation. Badge Busse worried about the ever-present droughts and the impact they would have on the rare bonding time spent fishing with his father. One of the few adult plaintiffs in Held v Montana, its very own namesake, 22-year-old Rikki Held, feared for her family’s livelihood which has already been significantly impacted by the climate crisis in Montana. These young people decided to take it to court when they filed the case in 2020, arguing that the state of Montana has violated one of their key constitutional rights, the right of all Montana residents to a “clean and healthful” environment. They argued that the policies implemented by the government of Montana encourage the use of excessive fossil fuels and ignores the ramification it has on the environment. Aside from the state ignoring the ramifications these policies have on the environment, the plaintiffs seek the amendment of the aggressive anti-climate law recently put in place in the state which prohibits state agencies from taking climate change into account when approving large projects.
The state of Montana has requested the case to be partially dismissed and refutes the plaintiff’s claim that the youth of Montana are affected by every ton of carbon dioxide produced yearly, as the plaintiffs could not state the “specific” effects of the carbon dioxide production on the population aside from it being harmful. It raises the question of how much “specificity” is required by the state of Montana. How many facts and figures are required to prove that the levels of carbon dioxide production allowed by the government are harmful? Where does the state of Montana cap the “limits” of what level of pollution is harmful and what isn’t? Is it that students falling ill due to smoke inhalation, and families losing their livelihoods because of the drastic environmental shifts don’t meet the minimum requirement of what the government of Montana considers to be harmful?
This week alone, (the 25th of June to the 2nd of July) there have been 31 wildfires in Montana. The plaintiffs of Held v Montana have not presented any more “specificity” of their case because it is all around them. There are multiple new wildfires every day, there is water degradation and droughts, there is the melting of the infamous Montana slopes, and there is the loss of livelihoods as a result of all these factors put together. These 16 young people require no more specificity to prove that the environmentally fascist policies approved and implemented by the state of Montana are harmful to the population, they simply require the government and court to look outside their windows.
These 16 courageous Montana youths said, “We can’t wait for the next generation to come along and change this.”, and just like them you too can be the change you wish to see in the world. If you live in the other states of the United States of America you have the privilege of using the momentum brought from the Held v Montana case to fight for the same amendments and rights in your state and in your home. This does not only apply to the United States of America, from anywhere in the world you can make a change, research the climate and environmental laws and legislation where you live and figure out what you and others around you can do to make a change today!
Written by Jada Khan