Jayden F.
Age: 21 | Hometown: Rayne, Louisiana
"Our government seems to care more about money for the fossil fuel industry than for our futures. But money isn't going to matter if we can't fix our planet."
Early one morning in August 2016, as torrential rains pounded Louisiana, Jayden woke up, stepped onto her bedroom floor, and found herself ankle-deep in water. "They called it a thousand-year flood, meaning it should only happen every thousand years or so," she says. "But in my state—Louisiana—we have had that 1,000-year flood and eight 500-year floods in less than two years. A few weeks ago I literally stepped out of bed and was up to my ankles in climate change." Most of Jayden's family home was destroyed in that flood, which was followed by another in Spring 2017.
The air and water pollution from the development of fossil fuels in southern Louisiana also threaten the health of Jayden and her family. They used to enjoy visiting the beach frequently, swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, crabbing, and eating seafood, but have avoided these activities since the BP oil spill. She is now working with her mother, Cherri, to resist the Bayou Bridge Pipeline, which would carry oil transported via the Dakota Access pipeline from Nederland, Texas, across the state of Louisiana to refineries and international export terminals.
News reel
November 5, 2018 - Teen Vogue
21 Under 21: Jayden Foytlin Explains Why She's Suing the Government for Furthering the Effects of Climate Change
March 21, 2019 - Vogue
Do Americans Have a Constitutional Right to a Livable Planet? Meet the 21 Young People Who Say They Do
March 2, 2019 - CBS News
The climate change lawsuit that could stop the U.S. government from supporting fossil fuels
January 16, 2019 - The Guardian
The women fighting a pipeline that could destroy precious wildlife
June 13, 2018 - Inside Climate News
Fighting Climate Change Can Be a Lonely Battle in Oil Country, Especially for a Kid
December 6, 2016 - The New Yorker
The Teenagers Suing Over Climate Change
Winter 2016 - Audubon Magazine
Historic Climate Case Led By Kids Is Headed to Trial
September 14, 2016 - The Daily Mail
21 children have launched a lawsuit against Obama because he 'hasn't done enough to protect them from the effects of climate change'
September 13, 2016 - Common Dreams
"It's Time We Were Heard": Another Day in Court for Climate Kids
September 13, 2016 - CNN
Saving the planet for future generations