Guided by Heritage, Fueled by Justice: Taleah’s Fight for Constitutional Rights and Historic Climate Victory in Montana
Rooted in the strength of her Indigenous and Hispanic heritage, Taleah is one of the courageous youth plaintiffs in the landmark Held v. State of Montana lawsuit. In 2023, she and her fellow youth plaintiffs took their state government to court for worsening the climate crisis and violating their constitutional rights. After the first trial of its kind in the U.S., Judge Seeley issued a historic ruling wholly in their favor. This Hispanic Heritage Month, we highlight Taleah, her pivotal role in this historic climate victory, and how her culture drives her relentless fight for climate rights and the protection of her land.
Climate Crisis and Institutional Betrayal Inextricably Linked to Rising Mental Health Issues Among Children
Elizabeth Pinsky is the Associate Director at the Massachusetts General Center for Environment and Health and a child and adolescent psychiatrist and pediatrician. She also serves as a pro bono expert in Genesis v. EPA. The excerpt below is from her declaration filed on August 12, 2024, in support of the youth plaintiffs.
This Young Californian is Fighting to Protect Children’s Rights in Equal Protection, Constitutional Climate Suit, Genesis v. EPA
Noah is one of 18 young plaintiffs in the landmark climate lawsuit, Genesis v. EPA seeking to hold the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accountable for violating their fundamental constitutional rights to equal protection of the law and their fundamental rights to life by allowing life-threatening levels of fossil fuel climate pollution.
From Calvin Ball to Climate Crisis: A Genesis Plaintiff’s Plea for Change
I love my city, but I don’t know how much my city loves me. I’m a young person of color and I don’t feel seen by leaders. Being Muslim and female already makes it harder to be listened to. Being young and not even of voting age, compounds my ability to make a difference and even be seen or listened to.
For Children Being Discriminated by EPA, Volunteering and Activism Isn’t Enough
I joined Genesis v. EPA as a youth plaintiff because I see the climate crisis worsening right before my eyes, and it scares me. I know that my health and quality of life will be increasingly harmed as fossil fuel pollution continues, and I want to have equal rights to adults, and past generations when it comes to the livability of our climate and my home community.
Testimony at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Advocating for Best Available Climate Science to Protect Childrens’ Right
On April 23, 24, and 25, 2024, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Kalālapaikuanalu Winter, a 20-year-old Native Hawaiian and youth plaintiff in Navahine v. Hawai‘i Department of Transportation and attorney Kelly Matheson with Our Children’s Trust, along with the backing of 21 youth and 18 pediatric associations—testified before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) about the harrowing effects of climate change on children across the globe and what humanity must do to stop the crisis.