'He jeopardized our future': children sue the governor of Florida

A group of children sued Florida Governor Rick Scott, stating that he “put his future at risk” and violated their constitutional rights because he did nothing to fight climate change.

Photo: twitter.com/FLGovScott

“The state has a constitutional obligation, and these young people have a fundamental right to a stable climate system,” said Guy Burns, lead attorney for the eight plaintiffs, most of them teenagers.

The age of the plaintiffs varies from 10 to 20 years. Among them are climate change activists Levi Drahim and Delaney Reynolds, who expressed their outrage in the lawsuit.

“The reason I am part of this lawsuit is because I believe the climate change crisis is the greatest threat my generation will ever face,” Reynolds explained.

For many years, Scott refused to tackle the problem of climate change, he even replied to reporters: “I’m not a scientist,” when asked for his opinion on this issue in 2014.

It is reported that he banned administration members from using the term “climate change” along with the phrase “global warming”.

The children filed a lawsuit not only on Scott, but also on several government agencies.

“We can’t wait any longer because climate change is a huge problem,” said Dreiheim, who is 10 years old.

In their lawsuit, children claim that local officials have harmed both current and future generations of Florida residents using a "fossil fuel based energy system" that causes "dangerous levels of greenhouse gas pollution."

They also claim that the defendants caused “a significant deterioration in vital natural resources”, which ultimately led to climate change.

The group seeks to create a “Climate Change Plan” to deal with the consequences.

“The Florida Constitution recognizes that these young people have certain fundamental rights that the state government must not violate,” said Andrea Rogers, senior attorney. “Unfortunately, when it comes to climate change, the state of Florida is actively pursuing policies that result in dangerous levels of greenhouse gas emissions and threaten the lives and freedom of these youth. The court needs to intervene to ensure the rights of these young people are protected.”

In response to the lawsuit, the spokesman for the governor, Scott, called the lawsuit "political theater."

Read also on ForumDaily:

Personal experience: how Americans are different from us

Personal experience: 10 American habits I gave up in Russia

To cheat and stay: how does the fake visa industry in the US

10 habits of Americans who are doing well with money

6 habits that only Americans have

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.