My name is Kelsey Juliana and I’m suing the United States government
for causing and accelerating the climate change crisis. I’m 22 years old
and I’ve been a climate activist for more than half of my life.
I know that young people like me, and others who have yet to be born,
have a right to a safe climate system. The constitution guarantees all
Americans the right to life, liberty, and property. But how is anyone
supposed to live a life of freedom amid a climate crisis? My own
government is violating my constitutional rights by its ongoing and
deliberate actions that cause climate change and it’s not right.
I, along with 20 other young people from around the country, filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 2015, called Juliana v. United States.
We’re not asking for money. Instead, we’re asking the court to order
the government to develop and implement a National Climate Recovery Plan
based on the best available science.
This plan should end the reign of fossil fuels and quickly
decarbonize our atmosphere so that we can stabilize our climate system
before it’s too late.
The longer we go without climate recovery, the more we risk allowing our climate to spiral completely out of control.
And the climate is spiraling out of control, no matter how many
politicians claim we’re experiencing normal fluctuations or, worse, a
“hoax.” All of the expert witnesses in our lawsuit say that we are
currently—already—in the “danger zone” and an “emergency situation” with
only 1°C of planetary heating. Allowing the planet to heat up any more
is not safe for our species, as well as so many others. And according to
the Trump administration’s most recent environmental impact statement,
the planet could heat as much as 7°F before the end of this century. We
cannot allow this to happen because we simply will not survive.
We originally filed our lawsuit against the Obama administration.
That administration tried to have the case dismissed, but the judge
ruled in our favor and found that we should be allowed to go to trial.
In 2017, the Trump administration inherited the lawsuit and it has
done everything in its power, employing every conceivable tactic, to
deny my fellow plaintiffs and me our right to present our case in court.
This administration is so fiercely attempting to silence our voices.
At this point, every level of the federal judiciary—the U.S. District
Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court—has
denied the Trump administration’s efforts to have the case thrown out.
Yet it will not halt its efforts to avoid standard legal procedures and
confront us, the nation’s youth, in court.
Our trial is officially scheduled to begin on October 29, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon.
What we’re asking for could change everything.
My fellow plaintiffs and I want you with us as we head into the
courtroom to confront the United States government for knowingly
violating our constitutional rights. Supporters will hold rallies in
every state around the country, so if you can’t be with us in Eugene, find your local rally here.
Get regular updates by following @youthvgov on social media.
AAVSL (African American Venacular Sign Language) is wild because you really see the culture in it and if you are Black and hearing/don’t know ASL, you still understand it because so much of black communicatiom is nonverbal
Reblogging again because I didn’t know AAVE had a sign language equivalent even though now it makes so much sense.
There are many reasons to vote besides electing officials. You might also, say, still technically have slavery in your state constitution that needs to be abolished.
MMMMMHM. Wanna know what’s worse? This is the second time in the last few years Colorado has voted on this because last time IT DIDN’T FUCKING PASS.
If you want to get really technical on it, this is a “the language just never technically got removed” sort of issue. But it is obviously still a huge fucking issue.
Really damn ashamed of my state on this one, honestly.
It’s not just a technical language issue. This would affect prison labor- prison is where legal slave labor happens in the U.S. There’s a lot of corporate interests- private prisons, for one- who don’t want this amendment to pass, because it would cut into their ability to profit from the labor of prisoners. I’m no longer a Colorado voter since I moved to Montana, but if you live in Colorado, vote yes on amendment A!
Hey, Colorado! You have an opportunity few of us do: YOU CAN VOTE AGAINST SLAVERY! I mean, it’s horrifying that prison slavery is a thing, but how great is it that you get to go to the polls and say “no more slavery”? Show the country that you really do believe that slavery is bad!
Also hey we need to vote prison slavery out of existence NATION WIDE! Why? Because it is STILL LEGAL UNDER THE CONSTITUTION ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Time for more states to remove this prison exemption!
fbi-agent-anderson 