A group of young climate activists attempted to put the Trump administration’s energy agenda on trial in Montana this week. In two days of hearings in a packed federal courtroom in Missoula, the plaintiffs and a slew of expert witnesses testified that three of President Trump’s executive orders aimed at “unleashing” American energy violated their Constitutional rights to life and liberty. The president’s efforts to quash clean energy sources like wind and solar while promoting fossil fuels, they said, would exacerbate the climate crisis, causing air pollution near their homes and creating more of the greenhouse gases that are warming the planet. Five of the plaintiffs, ranging in age from 11 to 20 years old, and two with severe lung conditions, testified about the effects of wildfires, heat and coal dust. They asked Judge Dana L. Christensen to issue a preliminary injunction stopping federal agencies from implementing the orders until their case is heard.
