Dear John,
"When we work together across generations, the movement becomes not just louder, but deeper and stronger. That is how we win." – Delaney Reynolds, Youth Plaintiff
Even right now, I am filled with optimism as youth, lawyers, scientists, and supporters like you step up with courage. Together, we are filling the fissures in democracy with transformative justice.
This has been a year of progress and resilience—proving democracy lives where youth champion it.
In September, we made history with the first federal evidentiary hearing in a youth-led constitutional climate case. Five young plaintiffs testified in Lighthiser v. Trump about how climate change impacts their lives right now. Joseph, diagnosed with asthma at age three from living near California fossil fuel wells, still can't escape wildfire smoke that causes lung spasms. The executive orders challenged in this case forced him to abandon his environmental policy degree as federal funding evaporates. Former White House advisor John Podesta testified that the administration is "willfully blinding itself to climate science."
While the judge "reluctantly" dismissed the case, inviting the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse him, it conclusively affirmed that presidential policies contribute to a "children's health emergency." This isn't over.
Joseph captures what’s at stake:
