In the same week large swaths of the US were under extreme heat warnings, Joe Biden’s Justice Department filed its most recent motion to dismiss a landmark climate case by arguing that nothing in the Constitution guarantees the right to a secure climate.
Folks in the comments are making assumptions about what’s in the Constitution, so I decided to go take a look. If I were the petitioners, I’d point to section 1 of the 14th Amendment:
Depriving someone of clean air to breathe is depriving them of life. The medical conditions from being exposed to unclean air threaten property through medical bills in a country without universal healthcare. And finally, liberty cannot exist without life.
And since a lot of folks are going for the technically correct legislative analysis, remember that bad air causes autoimmune disorders, and thus abridge the immunities of the citizens of the United States. A stretch, but I’d say it qualifies if you’re analyzing the law from a purely textual standpoint.
Can I just say I absolutely love the 14th amendment? It’s not the Declaration of Independence, but it does a lot of heavy lifting for it in the Constitution.
Montana’s young people have set a precedent. We can build on this and demand the same on a federal level.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/young-activists-in-montana-win-landmark-climate-change-lawsuit-against-state
They built their case around a clause in the state constitution which guarantees the right to a clean and healthful environment. It takes something more to win at the US federal level where there isn’t a clause like that.