Category Archives: Environment

Held v State of Montana Claire Vlases & Georgi Fischer Testimony

Since the historic Held v. State of Montana trial began on June 12, 2023, in the Lewis and Clark County District Court in Helena, MT, Judge Kathy Seeley presiding, we have recorded and archived the audio testimony to preserve the record to inform our listeners, and allow you to hear for yourselves what transpired.

In this special Ecotones edition of Forthright Radio, we share the testimony of our own Bozeman youth plaintiffs, Claire Vlases and Georgianna “Georgi” Fischer.

For the first time in the United States, youth plaintiffs were able to present their case in a court of law, that their inalienable constitutional rights under Article II Section 3 of the Montana State Constitution “to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life’s basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways.” ….. were being denied and violated by the policies and actions of their government. Further, that The State was in violation of their responsibilities as required under Article IX, Environment and Natural Resources, Section 1. Protection and Improvement that “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations. Section 2. The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty. and Section 3. The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources.”

Furthermore, the Montana State Constitution includes under Article II Declaration of Rights: Section 15. “Rights of persons not adults. The rights of persons under 18 years of age shall include, but not be limited to, all the fundamental rights of this Article unless specifically precluded by laws which enhance the protection of such persons.” It is said that it is the only state constitution to specify this, and the youth plaintiffs in Held v State of Montana are holding the state to the letter of this supreme law of the state of Montana.

In this special Ecotones edition of Forthright Radio, we bring you the testimony of two of the youth plaintiffs from Bozeman, MT, Claire Vlases and Georgianna “Georgi” Fischer. Although they and the other 14 youth plaintiffs are the first to have their case heard in the United States, they are by no means alone in their efforts. There are at least five other youth led climate change suits.

In the matter of Juliana v United States, filed by 21 young Americans in 2015, in the US District Court in Oregon, asserting that the federal government’s fossil fuel energy system and its affirmative actions that cause climate change violate their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as their rights to essential public trust resources like air and water. It had seemed that the legal maneuvers by the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump had succeeded in blocking their efforts. However on June 1, 2023, Federal Judge Ann Aiken, of the US District Court in Oregon, granted their motion to amend their complaint, putting their case back on track to trial, where evidence of the government’s conduct will be heard in open court.

These 21 youth plaintiffs are seeking a judicial declaration that the US fossil fuel energy system is unconstitutional, and violates their fundamental right to a safe climate. According to ourchildrenstrust.org’s website, “A victory in their case would mean that U.S. climate and energy policy – whether executive or legislative in nature, and regardless of political majority or party – would need to adhere to the court’s declaratory judgment, protecting the rights of our nation’s children and ending the physical and mental harm they have experienced due to the actions of their own government.”

However on June 22, 2023, The Department of Justice of the Biden Administration filed yet another motion to dismiss Juliana v. United States, one day after receiving an online petition signed by more than 255 organizations and over 50,000 individuals delivered by the People vs. Fossil Fuels coalition, urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to end opposition to the Juliana case proceeding to trial, and only two days after the plaintiffs rested their case in Held v. State of Montana, which now awaits the decision of Judge Cathy Seeley.

Meanwhile, the 14 youth plaintiffs in Navahine F. v Hawaii Department of Transportation, whose case was filed in June of 2022, succeeded on April 6, 2023 when the Environmental Court of First Circuit in Honolulu denied the State’s motion to dismiss. They are awaiting a trial date to be determined, after their motion to maintain their September, 2023 trial date was denied, when Judge Crabtree granted the State’s motion to continue the trial date to give the State more time to prepare their defense.

‘I cried like 10 times’: Bozeman plaintiffs reflect on youth climate trial https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/environment/i-cried-like-10-times-bozeman-plaintiffs-reflect-on-youth-climate-trial/article_bbdb990a-11dc-11ee-aa76-a7baaf9171d7.html

Claire Vlases – Solar Makes Sense http://kgvm.org/show/claire-vlases-solar-makes-sense/

‘Nothing Short of Outrageous’: Attorneys for Youth Climate Plaintiffs Blast Biden DOJ https://www.commondreams.org/news/doj-dismiss-juliana-climate

Held v State of Montana Opening & Closing Arguments

Since the historic Held v. State of Montana trial began on June 12, 2023, in the Lewis and Clark County District Court in Helena, MT, Judge Kathy Seeley presiding, we have been recording and archiving the audio to preserve the record, to inform and allow listeners to hear for what transpired.

For the first time in the United States, youth plaintiffs were able to present their case in a court of law, that the state of Montana was denying them their inalienable constitutional rights under Article II Section 3 of the Montana State Constitution

“to a clean and healthful environment and the rights of pursuing life’s basic necessities, enjoying and defending their lives and liberties, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and seeking their safety, health and happiness in all lawful ways.” ….. were being denied and violated by the policies and actions of their government.

Further, that The State was in violation of their responsibilities as required under Article IX, Environment and Natural Resources, Section 1. Protection and Improvement that “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations. Section 2. The legislature shall provide for the administration and enforcement of this duty. and Section 3. The legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources. ”

In this edition of Ecotones, we share the opening arguments given in Held v State of Montana on Monday, June 12, 2023, as well as the closing arguments from Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Here is a list of the unedited testimonies of witnesses in this trial in chronological order of their appearance:

Mae Nan Ellingson http://kgvm.org/show/held-mae-nan-ellingson-testimony-6-12-23/

Ricki Held http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-ricki-held-testimony-6-12-23/

Dr. Steven Running http://kgvm.org/show/held-dr-steve-running-testimony-6-12-23/

Grace Gibson-Snyder http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-grace-testimony/

Eva http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-eva-testimony-6-12-23/

Dr. Cathy Whitlock http://kgvm.org/show/held-dr-cathy-whitlock-testimony-6-13-23/

Mica http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-mica-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Daniel Fagre http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-dan-fagre-6-13-23/

Badger Busse http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-badge-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Lori Byron http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-lori-byron-testimony-6-13-23/

Dr. Shane Doyle http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-shane-doyle-testimony-6-14-23/

Michael Durglo, Jr. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-michael-durglo-jr/

Sariel Sandoval http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-sariel-sandoval-testimony-6-14-23/

Taleah Hernández http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-taleah-hernandez-testimony-6-14-23/

Georgianna Fischer http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-georgianna-fischer-testimony-6-14-23/

Kian Tanner http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-kian-tanner-testimony-6-15-23/

Anne Hedges http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-anne-hedges-testimony-6-15-23/

Claire Vlases http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-claire-vlases-testimony-6-15-23/

Peter Erickson http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-peter-erickson-testimony-6-15-23/

Mark Jacobson http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-mark-jacobson-testimony-6-16-23/

Olivia V. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-olivia-v-testimony-6-16-23/

Dr. Lise Van Susteren http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lise-van-susteren-testimony-6-16-23/

Lander Busse http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lander-busse-testimony-6-16-23/

Christopher Dorrington & Sonja Nowakowski http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-christopher-dorrington-sonja-nowakowski/

Sonja Nowakowski & Dr. Terry Anderson https://forthright.media/2023/06/20/held-v-state-of-montana-day-6-part-2-cross-examination-of-sonja-nowakowski-final-witness-dr-terry-anderson/

Held v State of Montana Day 7 Closing Arguments

This special edition of Ecotones is the final daily audio digest of the historic Held v State of Montana trial.

On the final day of this trial, one day before the summer solstice, on June 20, 2023, closing arguments were given before Judge Kathy Seeley, presiding judge of the Lewis and Clark District Court in Helena, MT.

Our Children’s Trust Senior Staff Attorney, Nate Bellinger, delivered the plaintiffs’ closing arguments, followed by Montana Assistant Attorney General, Michael Russell, delivering closing arguments for the State.

Judge Kathy Seeley presides as plaintiffs’ attorney, Nate Bellinger, delivers closing arguments.

Before these remarks, plaintiffs’ attorney Philip Gregory, offered further information attacking the credibility of the State’s lone outside expert witness, economist Dr. Terry Anderson, submitting a report documenting errors of his sources and information, and asking the court to take judicial notice, which the court granted. The audio of this portion of the proceedings, which came before the closing arguments was problematic, and our best efforts only made marginal improvements, so we have put this portion at the end of this recording after the closing arguments.

Held v State of Montana – Day 6 Part 2 Cross Examination of Sonja Nowakowski & final witness, Dr. Terry Anderson

This is a special edition of Ecotones, Part 2 of our daily audio digest for June 19, 2023, Day 6 of the historic Held v State of Montana. It was the second week of the trial, which began on June 12, 2023 in the Lewis & Clark County District Court in Helena, MT – Judge Kathy Seeley presiding. Attorneys for The 16 youth plaintiffs rested their case on Friday, June 16th.

Because of limited radio broadcast time, we had to leave Part 1 of the June 19, 2023 session after the direct examination of Sonja Nowakowski, Administrator for the Air, Energy, and Mining Division at Montana DEQ. We now continue with the cross examination of Administrator Nowakowski by Barbara Chillcott, Senior attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center (WELC).

This is followed by The final of only 3 state witnesses, Dr. Terry Anderson, an economist and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and emeritus professor at Montana State University. He presented a brief testimony of under 15 minutes of carefully limited inquiry from defense attorneys related to Energy Information Administration data on GHG emissions.

Under blistering cross examination by plaintiff attorney, Philip Gregory, Of Counsel with Our Children’s Trust, who asked about errors in his math and misinterpretation of data in Dr. Anderson’s expert report. The State initially objected, stating the questions exceeded the scope of their direct examination, which consisted of only five questions. However, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the cross examination went to credibility of the witness. Judge Kathy Seeley overruled the State’s objections, allowing Mr. Gregory to pursue beyond scope of the direct to probe questions of his credibility.

The state had originally listed Dr. Judith Curry as one of their expert witnesses, however they withdrew her name last week without explanation, after pre-rebuttals by numerous plaintiff’s expert witnesses.

Held v State of Montana – Day 5 Daily Digest Dr. Lise Van Susteren & Lander Busse

We have been recording and producing daily audio digests of the historic Held v State of Montana trial, brought by 16 youth plaintiffs asserting that their constitutional rights are being violated by the State of Montana, which began on June 12, 2023, in the Lewis and Clarke County District Court in Helena, MT, Judge Cathy Seeley presiding.

We share the testimony of the final two witnesses for the plaintiffs, Dr. Lise Van Susteren, an internationally recognized psychiatrist and expert on how climate change affects the physical and mental health of youth differently and more drastically than adults. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lise-van-susteren-testimony-6-16-23/

We end with the final words of the plaintiffs’ case given by youth plaintiff, Lander Busse, after which the Plaintiffs rested their case. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-lise-van-susteren-testimony-6-16-23/

We will continue to record and produce these daily audio digests of the Held v State of Montana trial as it continues on July 19, 2023 as the Defense presents their case with witnesses Terry Anderson, Christopher Dorrington and Sonja Nowakowski.

Dramatic week in Montana climate trial as youngsters tell of toll on lives https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/17/montana-climate-trial-helena

Climate change is harming my mental health https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-65633082

Held v State of Montana – Day 4 Daily Audio Digest

Welcome to this special edition of Ecotones. We continue our coverage on this fourth day of the historic Held v State of Montana proceedings, sharing this audio daily digest from June 15, 2023. In this edition, we feature three witnesses, but not in the order in which they actually testified on Thursday June 15th. Testifying first was youth plaintiff, Kian Tanner, followed by Montana Environmental Information Center Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs, Anne Hedges, and then youth plaintiff, Claire Vlases.

Claire Vlases testifies on 6-15-23, while Judge Kathy Seeley listens intently

Our digest begins instead with Bozeman youth plaintiff, Claire Vlases. We include the link to our October, 2018 interview with Claire when she was a Bozeman High School sophomore. http://kgvm.org/show/claire-vlases-solar-makes-sense/ http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-claire-vlases-testimony-6-15-23/

Next is testimony from Anne Hedges, who is the Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs at the Montana Environmental Information Center, including cross examination by Defense Attorney for the State of Montana, Bain Johnson (apology if his name is misspelled). http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-anne-hedges-testimony-6-15-23/

Youth plaintiff, Kian Tanner is the final witness we feature in this digest. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-kian-tanner-testimony-6-15-23/

Due to radio broadcast time restraints, we were not able to include the testimony of the final witness on June 15, 2023, Peter Erickson, a climate change policy researcher for the Stockholm Environment Institute in Seattle, Washington. He provided expert testimony on Montana’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions – via fossil fuel consumption, extraction, and infrastructure that the state of Montana permits – and how these emissions are both nationally and globally significant. “We are at a decision point about taking action on climate change,” Mr. Erickson said. “The world community has decided we must. Montana continues to issue fossil fuel permits.” http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-peter-erickson-testimony-6-15-23/

We will include audio of his testimony, as well as those of others we could not previously share, in later programs.

Meet the kids behind the historic Montana climate trial https://www.eenews.net/articles/meet-the-kids-behind-the-historic-montana-climate-trial/

Experts in Youth Climate Trial Say Montana’s Legislative and Executive Branches Favor Fossil Fuel Industry https://flatheadbeacon.com/2023/06/16/experts-in-youth-climate-trial-say-montanas-legislative-and-executive-branches-favor-fossil-fuel-industry/

Indigenous experiences headline third day of Held v. Montana trial https://montanafreepress.org/2023/06/15/indigenous-experiences-headline-third-day-of-held-v-montana-trial/

Young People in Historic Climate Trial Rest Their Case https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/young-people-in-historic-climate-trial-rest-their-case/

Held v State of Montana – Day 3 Daily Digest

We continue our coverage of the historic Held v State of Montana proceedings with this audio daily digest of the hearing from June 14, 2023. Dr. Lori Byron continued her testimony from June 13th, discussing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and human generated catastrophic climate change. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-dr-lori-byron-testimony-6-13-23/

After cross examination of Dr. Byron by Defense Attorney for the State of Montana, Mark Stermitz, attorneys for the plaintiffs called Dr. Shane Doyle to the witness stand, testifying on behalf of his daughters, two of the youth plaintiffs, Ruby and Lillian Doyle. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-shane-doyle-testimony-6-14-23/

They then called Michael Durglo, Jr., head of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ Tribal Historic Department. http://kgvm.org/show/held-v-state-of-montana-michael-durglo-jr/

Our Children’s Lungs Are Uniquely Vulnerable to All This Wildfire Smoke https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/02/opinion/wildfire-smoke-air-quality-kids-children-health.html