https://newrepublic.com/minutes/141278/trumps-climate-change-battle-bunch-kids-heating-upQuote
Trump’s climate change battle with a bunch of kids is heating up.
Trump’s Justice Department made moves this week to kill a lawsuit filed by 21 kids alleging the federal government has screwed them over when it comes to climate change. Specifically, the Washington Post reports, Trump’s lawyers asked a federal court this week to overturn a November ruling that cleared the lawsuit for trial. They’ve also filed a motion to halt the case immediately, saying the government would be “irreparably harmed” if made to produce documents the kids are asking for.
The plaintiffs, who range from ages eight to 19, are asking for 60 years worth of federal government documents. They want to know what the federal government knew about the harmful effects of climate change, and when they knew about it. They’re arguing that the government has continually failed to recognize the risks of climate change and adequately address the carbon emissions that cause it—and that that failure is a violation of their constitutional right to equal protection under the law, among other things.
The lawsuit has been hailed by climate activists as a potential saving grace—something that could literally force the government to implement aggressive greenhouse gas reduction policies. So far, the lawsuit has survived a number of small challenges, leaving green groups with tentative hope that they don’t actually need to convince Trump to act on climate change. If this succeeds, they can just force him to do it. But Trump’s team clearly recognizes this as well. And if this week’s court actions are any indication, they are not going down without a fight.
So it appears that this thing might actually make it to a real courtroom against all odds and corporate interests running on overdrive to try to prevent it, including the White House itself making very authoritarian requests to stop this trial by force, being honest for once in saying that it would make them look really bad and negligent.
What does PaRD think?
If you are one of those Audit the Fed types, I imagine you will be logically consistent and support this audit as well in a move toward transparency. But deep down I think a lot of those audit the Fed types are hypocrites and corporate stooges and will do anything to diminish the power of the people to regulate polluters.
If you don't think that this audit of government work and knowledge around climate change should happen, then why do you believe that?
What do you think of the argument that their equal protection has been violated by the governments negligence in the sense that these children and their children's' children futures have been compromised because of the moral failure of greedy capitalists who believe that lining the pockets of the 1% beyond all reasonable expectations is more important than having a reasonable environment to live in several decades from now?