The Government Is Trying to Silence 21 Kids Hurt by Climate Change
On July 18, 2018, a crowd of young people demonstrated in front of the federal courthouse in Eugene, Oregon, to call attention to their lawsuit against the federal government. It was a classic Oregon summer day—morning clouds blowing off by midday, blue sky above, low humidity. Almost paradise. It was also, like virtually every day in July, hotter than average. And there was a hint of smoke in the air.
That smell of smoke was the first sign of the wildfires that would sweep the region, all but closing down tourist season in some resort destinations in the southern part of the state. This summer, much of the West burned. Other parts of the United States—the Gulf Coast and Florida and the Carolinas—drowned under storm surge.
No one event—fire, flood, storm can be attributed to climate change, but the science is clear: Rising temperatures are lengthening fire season, intensifying storms, and raising sea levels. Climate change is wreaking havoc on lives across the country and
