Community member gather October 29, 2018 in Golden Heart Plaza for a rally to support Juliana v. United States. By Duncan Baumgarten Part 1 of 3 "What will you leave behind?" "Think of the little children" "Honor the Earth" The plaza was cast in a pale blue. Breath condensed inches in front of faces. Arms held handmade signs aloft, bright white knuckles against deep pink hands. The First Families statues, the fountain long since run dry, watched the forming crowd. On October 29, a group of approximately thirty community members rallied in support for the revolutionary Juliana v. the United States, at the Golden Heart Plaza in downtown Fairbanks. A crowd of “young, old, and somewhere in between” came together to support the landmark environmental case. Juliana v. the United States, also known as Youth v. Gov, is a lawsuit originally filed in 2015. A group of twenty-one plaintiffs brought charges against the US government for, according to Tom Baring, father of one of the plaintiffs, having “knowingly exacerbated” pollution and climate change. The plaintiffs are represented by Our Children’s Trust, who intend to “elevate the voices of youth” and “to secure the right to a stable climate and healthy atmosphere” according to their website. Environmentalist and activist Tristan Glowa held the role of master of ceremonies as the event coalesced. He proclaimed the need to show the youth “that we’ve got their back”. He stressed the importance of humanity’s respectful relationship with the environment, and with the land. “People power helps moves us to justice,” said Glowa. Among the twenty-one plaintiffs is nineteen-year-old Nathan Baring, a recent West Valley graduate. His father, Tom Baring, spoke at the rally. He found the youth activism as well as his son’s work to help hold the government accountable “incredibly inspiring”. He avowed the Trump Administration’s attempts to “circumvent” the proper legal procedure, as the case had been repeatedly halted by attempts to dismiss, specifically the ninth circuit court. “The Trump administration is trying to silence our youth,” he said. Baring cited various cases of environmental endangerment, with a recent Hawaiian island “disappearing” following a typhoon, and the current state of the Barrier Reef being very near elimination. He also spoke of struggles related to climate change in Barrow, and condemned the Federal Government for ignoring it for so long. “How many disasters do we need?” he asked, but stressed that there was still time to cause more damage. “This is a moral and spiritual issue,” he said, “and we’re making it a legal issue, too.” Baring declared happily that out of all the speakers for the rally, he was “the only one over the age of nineteen”. Nana Esche Peter, a home-school student and local singer-songwriter, spoke of the elder generation, and the importance of them acting sooner than later. She cited scientific predictions of “oceans becoming acidic” by “2030”. “I could be in a world where acidic rain could rain from the sky,” Peter lamented. “My generation is left with the problems.” The rally marched next door to the Rabinowitz Courthouse, declaring that the group should “tell them exactly what we want them to hear”. As they mass-migrated to their new location, the group formed a chant: "What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!" As a circle formed in front of the courthouse, two canvas banners were stretched and held at the front. These Youth Deserve Their Day, said one, with a painting of the earth. These Youth Speak For Us, said the other. Quannah Potts, a West Valley student, voiced her concern. “I feel sad that one day I will not see...what I saw years ago.” She brought attention to the late-onset snow, as opposed to the storms that regularly began in September less than five years previous. Potts declared the need for the government to “see us and hear us”. “We have voices,” she said, “we will use them.” Alden Jerome, a junior at Hutchison High and the student delegate to the school district, opened his commentary by acknowledging that “everyone knows that burning fossil fuels is bad.” He spoke to Exxon Mobil’s “nervous” state of mind, as they searched for “long term energy in Texas”. “They know their oil won’t be marketable,” said Jerome. He stressed the need for climate change to become a “do or die issue on the ballot”. The rally reached its climax when a recording of Nathan Baring,not present due to his engagement with the case, was played over the megaphone. He shared his wish to be present “standing alongside” his childhood community. “I still believe in the justice system,” Baring reassured listeners, but it is time to “take back power” from the government. The event closed in a hand-in-hand prayer and meditation on the fight ahead. “When our children are protesting for their future,” said a concerned mother, accompanied by her young daughter, “we’re doing something wrong.”
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