I remember about 8 years ago driving past the front range as my parents had told me about the impacts of climate change. They told me about the impacts of sea level rise, and how that could displace hundreds of millions of people. About how droughts could send food prices skyrocketing. Many areas I love deeply have been affected, such as Berthoud Pass, (a road on the way to Winter Park), as well as part of the Mount Evans area. And trees in the southwest corner of the state were already dying from heat - something I didn’t know was possible. Many Colorado forests faced devastating wildfires, which I witnessed from closed roads, along with pine beetle infestations related to the lack of winter cold spells sufficient to control the beetle larvae as they had in the past. My life as a climate change activist began then, and that entire process has let me see and take unconventional paths in life. I had been hearing and learning about climate science for some years, but it has become personal for me. I have tried my hardest to help make the world a better place, from working to encourage recycling initiatives at school starting in elementary school, to giving presentations, and attending conferences (including a training one by former VP Al Gore). But I consider my most important work now to be on the Juliana vs. US climate case, which I started on three years ago. Our Children’s Trust is representing me as a plaintiff in a groundbreaking case that advocates for all people’s civil rights, but especially those who are least represented in our system, kids and future generations. There are a lot of ways to climate change. The court system is one of the most important, especially since the federal government, the utility industry and the fossil fuel industry, through their trade association the American Petroleum Institute have been well aware of climate change since the 1960s. There was agreement and review by all these players at that time but the latter opted for a campaign of delay and obfuscation instead, and here we are, 50 years later, with little done and a more urgent situation than ever. We are resorting to the courts for action and protection of our civil rights. There have been many delays, but despite all those trials and tribulations, I think the lawsuit has given me an appreciation for the nuance of activism. A lot of people would assume that activism is about fighting regardless of extraneous circumstances, but accomplishing real change sometimes requires working within the system and seeking solutions with others, and looking carefully at what the law allows and how it can be used to protect the rights of all. Climate change may be the first truly global issue humanity has ever faced. I have been quoted as saying it is a “fundamental threat to human civilisation.” I joined this lawsuit because I thought it was a way that I could make a difference in bringing about the social change we need now, to help the world become a better place for everyone. One of the main arguments that we make in our case is that the children of the world and future generations are being discriminated against on climate change because the needs of people and youth are being discounted, both literally and figuratively. I could go further and say they are being sacrificed on an altar to things I do not believe in, like profit being more important than people, and short-run decision making. We will have to live in a future where the impacts of climate change are much, much worse, due to the delay that has already occurred. In our system, children and future generations cannot vote. We have no say but we can insist that we are citizens and people too, and we should not be discriminated against or treated so differently from those in leadership now. And we are insisting that the public trust doctrine that now protects water in many places be extended to the atmosphere and preservation of a livable climate. I am grateful to all the people working on this case, and the large team effort it has been. It has taught me first hand about working in large, complicated efforts, holding up my end of the bargain, putting my best foot forward, and yet not worrying too much about me – it’s about what we accomplish together. And I’ve been floored and inspired at how hard so many people have been working. They are not blowing off this threat and they and we will see this through. It’s given me a glimpse into how much bigger the world is than myself. There are parallel, similar cases going on in many countries. Together we will win. It’s like the civil rights movement of the 60s, but this is the big issue now, and it intersects with all the other justice issues and ongoing civil rights for people of color too, because the same entities are profiting from delay on the system change we need. There are people here now and people who come after me, and I have a deeper sense of my connection to them and responsibility to contribute, from other people of faith and all of the indigenous leaders who have joined us in this effort, performed ceremony and advised us along the way. We are all interconnected and all our efforts are needed. When we realize our connection, we find our strength, our future, our possibility. This case is the biggest thing in my life right now and one of the most important things I can imagine doing. Whether I’m a renewable energy engineer or a math teacher in the future, I’ll be able to bring a lot of insights and lessons from this huge effort to what I do next. I’m a stronger person because of my commitment, and it has cost me friends, from the third grade through now – people who think that what I am doing is some part of a liberal conspiracy or people who agree with the cause but are convinced that the whole thing is some giant publicity stunt. But I know my fellow plaintiffs on this case, who feel as strongly about this as I do, and the attorneys, who couldn’t be better. We are all doing everything we can. My involvement with this case has cost me friends and a regular normal place in society. Different things are acceptable to me. For example, I don’t think we can keep manufacturing and purchasing fossil fueled vehicles. I know that the challenges associated with this case have contributed to my ability to be myself and to overcome adversity in other areas. It has helped me see that I don’t have to follow the traditional path set out before me by society. This lawsuit has shown me a new path forward, one that doesn’t rely on following a traditional path, that there are diverse people doing amazing things, all seemingly unknown in my local area. If all the hearings, tribulation, waiting, demonstrating, depositions and flights have taught me one thing it’s this: that collective action and creative ways forward are possible and I can be involved in creating those. And we will get it done, together.