“Elected officials need to hear frontline voices.” And often, those voices come from the youngest amongst us. Such is the case in Juliana v. United States, a court case that will be decided by the US Supreme Court. The plaintiffs: 21 youth activists. Two of them — Levi Draheim, 13, and Jayden Foytlin, 17 –join today’s podcast to talk about how the voices of today’s kids should never be discredited or discounted.
“Juliana v. United States was filed in 2015 and is the first federal constitutional climate change lawsuit supported by some of the world’s top experts,” Draheim explains. “The [case’s] 21 plaintiffs between the ages of 13 and 24 assert that the executive branch of the government, through its affirmative actions in creating a national energy system that causes climate change, in turn depriving us of our constitutional rights to life, liberty and property.
Draheim continues, “Underlining these fundamental rights is a climate system capable of sustaining human life. In addition, the government has failed to protect the central public trust resources. For over 50 years, the government has known of the catastrophic risks of climate change. Yet, young Americans continued to be harmed by our government’s actions.”
Foytlin shares how her awareness of climate change started early due to disasters that befell her Louisiana hometown. “I want senators to see the urgency by listening firsthand to frontline voices — like Levi and me — from the communities that are being affected.”
Our Future Now co-host stresses the importance behind the actions of youth like Draheim and Foytlin. “It really shows the power that youth have; that we don’t have to wait for our future to make a difference because our future is now.”
Juliana v. United States Action Items
Learn more about Juliana v. United States at: https://www.youthvgov.org/our-case
Help expand the squad by checking out some local candidates we’re rooting for: Donna Imam: https://votefordonna.com/
Learn more about elections in your area at https://ballotpedia.org/Main_Page
Apply for your absentee ballot here: http://www.vote4ourfuture.org/votebymail.html
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The Our Future Now Collaboration
Our Future Now, a National Children’s Campaign Podcast is co-hosted by Jonah Gottlieb and Natalie Mebane. Gottlieb and Mebane are also co-founders of NCC. Gottlieb, a high school senior from Petaluma, California, is also the captain of One Planet Living and the co-founder and president of Global Awareness. Mebane is the Associate Director of US Policy for 350, an international movement looking to end the use of fossil fuels while promoting renewable energy.
Our Future Now is a collaboration between Parentology, the National Children’s Campaign and Goal 17 Media.
The National Children’s Campaign (NCC) is a national nonprofit organization that amplifies the voices of America’s 74 million children and youth, making sure our nation’s political leaders prioritize issues –health, education, climate and environment, child welfare, gun violence, child immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and youth civic engagement — that matter to those who are too young to vote. You can read more about today’s episode on the NCC blog here.
Goal 17 Media is a media network producing podcasts, videos and documentaries that inspire individuals and contribute to the common good.
Juliana v. United States: Sources
Learn more about Juliana v. United States at: https://www.youthvgov.org/our-case