The Kids Are Doing All Right

As a member of notoriously ironic* Generation X, I have to admit that I'm impressed by the sheer grit of today's young people.

As reported by the Washington Post:

In the first ruling of its kind nationwide, a Montana state court decided Monday in favor of young people who alleged the state violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment” by promoting the use of fossil fuels.

The court determined that a provision in the Montana Environmental Policy Act has harmed the state’s environment and the young plaintiffs, by preventing Montana from considering the climate impacts of energy projects. The provision is accordingly unconstitutional, the court said.

The win, experts say, could energize the environmental movement and reshape climate litigation across the country, ushering in a wave of cases aimed at advancing action on climate change. [...]

The ruling represents a rare victory for climate activists who have tried to use the courts to push back against government policies and industrial activities they say are harming the planet. In this case, it involved 16 young Montanans, ranging in age from 5 to 22, who brought the nation’s first constitutional and first youth-led climate lawsuit to go to trial.

They sued their State government, claiming that right-wing climate denialism and fossil-fuel-industry corporate welfare violated their constitutional rights... and they won. They WON! 

The kids aren't just all right, they're kicking ass and taking names. I don't believe that I ever had this kind of hustle. 

“People around the world are watching this case,” said Michael Gerrard, the founder of Columbia’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

You go, kids! Save the planet! We'll be cheering you on... ironically**, of course. Because that's how my generation does everything.

*   Ironic ≈ apathetic.

**  Ironic ≈ sincere (but not wanting to admit it).