The 70-page decision, authored by Chief Justice Mike McGrath, comes 16 months after Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Kathy Seeley ruled in the landmark Held v. Montana lawsuit, explicitly stating that the state’s greenhouse gas emissions are “proven to be a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana’s environment, and harm and injury to the youth plaintiffs.” Seeley’s decision also rolled back two laws enacted by the 2023 legislature that changed the Montana Environmental Policy Act.
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The state immediately appealed the decision to the Montana Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in the appeal in July. The court found in a 6-1 decision that Montana’s constitutional guarantee of a “clean and healthful environment” includes a stable climate system, “which is clearly within the object and true principles of the Framers inclusion of the right.”
Damn, congrats to the plaintiffs!
It’s no fun being Douggy Downer or Mr Pessimism, and this actually is a major victory and my congrats, sincerely, to those who fought and won … and yet what is the victory exactly? One American state will not be allowed to forbid the study of climate change.
We are dying here, literally, and this is a major victory, but it’s damned near nada and we’re still dying here.
We are dying here, literally, and this is a major victory, but it’s damned near nada and we’re still dying here.
We’re not dying, though. We’re still alive. We might be heading towards climate disaster, but we aren’t there yet, and the future isn’t a forgone conclusion; don’t give into the idea that we’re already dead and just don’t know it. If Montana ends up being the one safe haven for climate study (and it probably won’t be alone), I’ll take that over whatever cockamamie “plans” the next admin has.
As long as science can keep happening in relative safety, we have hope of progress.
