April 16, 2018
By Andrea Germanos
A new lawsuit filed Monday says that Florida, its governor, and numerous state agencies have exercised "deliberate indifference" with regards to the young plaintiffs' "fundamental rights to a stable climate system in violation of Florida common law and the Florida Constitution."
Kids in Florida, says one climate activist, are "rocking it again. (click here)
That's because a group of eight young Floridians just filed suit (pdf) against the Republican-controlled state, arguing that it has—as a result of propping up a fossil fuel-based energy system—violated their constitutional rights.
"The reason that I'm a part of this lawsuit is because I believe that the climate change crisis is the biggest threat that my generation will ever have to face," says 18-year-old plaintiff and climate activist Delaney Reynolds. "Right now we live in what I like to call the state of denial because the state of Florida is doing nothing to address climate change, but everything to cause it. That is completely immoral."
"If we ever want to have a future of living here in Florida, if my children ever want to live here in Florida," she adds, "we need to start working together to implement solutions for climate change or the state of Florida won't exist."
In addition to the state, the new suit, Reynolds v. State of Florida, names as defendants Gov. Rick Scott and a number of state agencies including the Department of Environmental Protection. These entities, the suit charges, have exercised "deliberate indifference to [plaintiffs'] fundamental rights to a stable climate system in violation of Florida common law and the Florida Constitution." The lawsuit says these state officials and agencies....
