Kids are taking the feds -- and possibly Trump -- to court over climate change

By John D. Sutter, CNN

Updated 0338 GMT (1138 HKT) November 11, 2016

"I chose to join the case because it sounded like something I could actually do," said Nick Venner, photographed in 2016 at age 15, from Lakewood, Colorado. "I think we have a really good chance of winning. It's hard for legal experts to deny the rights of young people. We are the future. They will be long gone before the long-term effects (of climate change) ever hit them. It's about my kids. It's about their grandkids."
Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
"I chose to join the case because it sounded like something I could actually do," said Nick Venner, photographed in 2016 at age 15, from Lakewood, Colorado. "I think we have a really good chance of winning. It's hard for legal experts to deny the rights of young people. We are the future. They will be long gone before the long-term effects (of climate change) ever hit them. It's about my kids. It's about their grandkids."
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Kelsey Juliana, 20, from Eugene, Oregon, has been involved in legal action over climate change for years. "It's a systems change we're asking for. And who are we asking it for? Everyone on the planet, especially the youth, the most unheard, the most disenfranchised," she said. "Almost all the kids in this case haven't voted ever -- and cannot vote. That's something I certainly think about, as one of the few who can vote."
Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
Kelsey Juliana, 20, from Eugene, Oregon, has been involved in legal action over climate change for years. "It's a systems change we're asking for. And who are we asking it for? Everyone on the planet, especially the youth, the most unheard, the most disenfranchised," she said. "Almost all the kids in this case haven't voted ever -- and cannot vote. That's something I certainly think about, as one of the few who can vote."
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"We live on a barrier island," said Levi Draheim, 9, from Florida's Space Coast. "If the sea rises, our (home) could just be underwater. And a couple of our reefs ... they're just almost gone. I can't even go to the beach. It gives me nightmares."
Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
"We live on a barrier island," said Levi Draheim, 9, from Florida's Space Coast. "If the sea rises, our (home) could just be underwater. And a couple of our reefs ... they're just almost gone. I can't even go to the beach. It gives me nightmares."
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Tia Hatton, 19, from Bend, Oregon, said she had to convince her family it was a good idea for her to take on the federal government. "I was late knowing about climate change. I lived in a conservative community. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I started thinking about it when the snow levels dropped in Bend. I'm a Nordic skier. All of a sudden, the puzzle started fitting together."
Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
Tia Hatton, 19, from Bend, Oregon, said she had to convince her family it was a good idea for her to take on the federal government. "I was late knowing about climate change. I lived in a conservative community. It wasn't until my senior year of high school that I started thinking about it when the snow levels dropped in Bend. I'm a Nordic skier. All of a sudden, the puzzle started fitting together."
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"You feel like there's no point in fighting," said Aji Piper, 16, from Seattle. "But you have this knowledge. So you still fight against this because it's the only thing you can do." He said it's frustrating when people think he's only repeating information adults have fed to him. "I'm not regurgitating any of this information," he said. "I'm not stupid. These facts are overwhelmingly in one direction."
Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
"You feel like there's no point in fighting," said Aji Piper, 16, from Seattle. "But you have this knowledge. So you still fight against this because it's the only thing you can do." He said it's frustrating when people think he's only repeating information adults have fed to him. "I'm not regurgitating any of this information," he said. "I'm not stupid. These facts are overwhelmingly in one direction."
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Climate change is "something I worry about," said Avery McRae, 11, of Eugene, Oregon. "If we don't do something now, we have a very bad future ahead of us."
Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
Climate change is "something I worry about," said Avery McRae, 11, of Eugene, Oregon. "If we don't do something now, we have a very bad future ahead of us."
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"I do a lot of outdoor activities that will be affected by climate change," said Zealand Bell, photographed at age 12, from Eugene, Oregon. "I ski, raft, hike -- all sorts of stuff. We go up to Willamette Pass (to ski), and the last few years it's barely been open because of the lack of snow. It does sort of make me mad, but mostly I'm sad. We've affected our climate so much. We've done all of this."
Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
"I do a lot of outdoor activities that will be affected by climate change," said Zealand Bell, photographed at age 12, from Eugene, Oregon. "I ski, raft, hike -- all sorts of stuff. We go up to Willamette Pass (to ski), and the last few years it's barely been open because of the lack of snow. It does sort of make me mad, but mostly I'm sad. We've affected our climate so much. We've done all of this."
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Victoria Barrett, 17, from New York, said she's involved in the climate change lawsuit because "it's pertinent to literally the existence of humankind." "We're some of the people to be like, 'Yo, cut it out with that.' And if you don't do it, we're going to sue you to do it. ... It's really important to posterity what we're doing."
Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
Victoria Barrett, 17, from New York, said she's involved in the climate change lawsuit because "it's pertinent to literally the existence of humankind." "We're some of the people to be like, 'Yo, cut it out with that.' And if you don't do it, we're going to sue you to do it. ... It's really important to posterity what we're doing."
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Jamie Lynn Butler, 15, from Cameron, Arizona, said her family had to move off of a Navajo reservation because of searing droughts. One of the family's horses died from dehydration, she said. "Because of drought on the reservation and climate change there's less and less water. I don't want the next generation, and this generation, to keep losing things because of how we treat the planet."
Photos: Meet the kids suing the President
Jamie Lynn Butler, 15, from Cameron, Arizona, said her family had to move off of a Navajo reservation because of searing droughts. One of the family's horses died from dehydration, she said. "Because of drought on the reservation and climate change there's less and less water. I don't want the next generation, and this generation, to keep losing things because of how we treat the planet."
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