美国国家公共电台 NPR--In a first, a youth climate lawsuit is being heard in a court in Montana

In a first, a youth climate lawsuit¹ is being heard in a court in Montana

Transcript²

A group of young people is suing the state of Montana for failing to address climate change. The state's constitution guarantees "a clean and healthful environment."

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Today, the first youth climate lawsuit to ever make it all the way to trial in the U.S. is being heard by a judge in Montana. Sixteen young people say state leaders are not addressing climate change and that violates the state constitution. Montana Public Radio's Ellis Juhlin has more.

ELLIS JUHLIN, BYLINE³: Badge Busse is a 15-year-old high school student who lives near Glacier⁴ National Park. He and his older brother have grown up hunting and fishing in the mountains surrounding their home.

BADGE BUSSE: It's hard to watch, like, the things that I love, like, get depleted⁵ slowly. Like, fishing with my dad is, like, my main way to hang out with him and my brother.

JUHLIN: Montana's constitution, written in 1972, explicitly⁶ says citizens have the right to a clean and healthful environment. That's one reason this case has made it all the way to trial. Young people nationwide have filed dozens of lawsuits⁷ about climate change since 2015, but none have actually been heard in court until now. The Busse brothers and their 14 co-plaintiffs say Montana's leaders need to establish limits on carbon emissions⁸.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GARY PARRY: They want us to figure out the exact effect that that's going to have on the global climate.

JUHLIN: Republican Gary Parry represents a coal mining town in the state legislature. Controls on carbon emissions are not popular among the politically powerful here. Parry spoke⁹ out against the state even measuring carbon emissions.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PARRY: And it's nearly impossible. And it's there specifically to be an obstructionist measure for industry in this state.

JUHLIN: Republicans hold every statewide office but one in Montana, including the attorney general. He's defending the state in this case. The AG is not talking to the media about the kids' lawsuit. But in an emailed statement, he called it a show trial on laws that do not exist and a waste of taxpayer¹⁰ resources. This year, state lawmakers removed climate language in Montana's Environmental Policy Act, but the judge says the lawsuit can continue. The attorney general and others say the kids are being coached by the legal team or their parents into suing. Plaintiff Badge Busse says this is their chance to be heard.

B BUSSE: I think about the - like, that our parents or the lawyers are coercing¹¹ us into doing this. I think I don't really know what else to say besides the fact that this is our land as much as it is any other people's. And we just want to protect it, protect it for our kids and for ourselves.

JUHLIN: Getting their day in court has been no easy feat¹². Since the youth plaintiffs filed the case in 2020, the attorney general has asked the state Supreme¹³ Court to intervene twice, unsuccessfully. Last summer, the attorney general asked for more time to prepare, and a judge gave him six months. After everything that's happened these past two years, Badge's brother, Lander Busse, says the thought of finally taking the stand is surreal.

LANDER BUSSE: It's kind of like a melancholy¹⁴ feeling for me going into it. We've had to fight so hard against an administration, a whole state, that doesn't want us to be able to carry out our constitutional rights.

JUHLIN: The outcome of this landmark¹⁵ case could impact other children's climate litigation going forward in state and federal courts. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Oregon said she'll hear an amended¹⁶ lawsuit brought by a group of 21 kids from around the country. Initially¹⁷ filed in 2015, it was thrown out by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said their complaints should be addressed by the White House or Congress. In Montana, Lander Busse says their case being taken up today is a chance to save what they love about their home.

L BUSSE: We're doing this first and foremost for the people of Montana who cherish and share this land and use it the same ways that we do and respect it the same way we do.

JUHLIN: The trial starts today in Helena and is scheduled to last two weeks.

For NPR News, I'm Ellis Juhlin in Helena.

(SOUNDBITE OF GLORIES' "CROWNS")

1 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

5 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

6 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

8 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

11 coercing   

v.迫使做( coerce的现在分词 )；强迫；（以武力、惩罚、威胁等手段）控制；支配

参考例句：

• All of the children had atopic dermatis coercing at least 20% of their body surface area. 所有的患儿体表有超过20%的遗传性过敏症皮炎感染。 来自互联网
• I assured him that we had no intention of coercing Israel in response a Soviet threat. 我向他保证，我们无意强迫以色列对苏联的威胁做出反映。 来自互联网

12 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

13 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

14 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

15 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

16 Amended   

adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
• He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。

17 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。