NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas - NBC on Earth: Climate Change Lawsuit

Episode Date: September 30, 2018

Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent Anne Thompson talks to Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, a hip-hop artist and environmental activist, who is part of a group suing the federal government over inaction on climate change.

Hip-hop artist and environmentalist Chutescott Martinez uses rap to spread his message. A call to protect the planet. We used to get lost up in the mountains, me and my friends. We're walking in a park at the foothills of the Rockies. Here, the wildfire smoke that taints the air is one more urgent prompt for the 18-year-old's most audacious effort yet. Addressing a climate crisis is one of the most important things we

have to do. And you're trying to do that in federal court. Yeah, that's true. Chutescott Martinez is one of 21 young people suing the federal government to take action on climate change, a legal long shot. Filed during the Obama administration, the suit, sponsored by our Children's Trust, is scheduled to go to trial next month in federal court, having survived multiple legal challenges. From Boulder, Colorado, I'm Anne Thompson, and this is NBC on Earth. So Xutescat, first of all, what does Xutescat mean? My father is indigenous Mexican.

Our ancestry is the Mexica people of Mexico City. And in our language, Xutescat means like turquoise mirror, representation of the reflection of the sky on the ocean. Do you see yourself as a reflection of the sky on the ocean? Definitely. It's really interesting how when we're born as children, the elders of our community, they look at the placement of the stars and the moon in the sky based on when we were born, and they create what's called a tonalamat, which just kind of reads which name will be good for your path in life.

So there's a whole deep meaning kind of behind the symbolism of it. But yeah, it's a significant part of who I am for sure. So are you living up to the path they saw or was your path destined? Yeah, it's interesting. I really believe that each and every one of us can create our own reality. And at the same time, I think that it's really important to recognize, like, the footsteps that I'm walking in, you know, really recognize, like, I'm walking in the footsteps of, like, my ancestors.

And there's a lot that comes with that, a lot of responsibility that comes with that to carry on, like, legacy from people for us that, like, fought really hard so we could be here. So, I don't know, I'd like to think that I'm doing my best to, like, carry that on, you know, carry on that legacy. We sit here at the foothills of the Rockies, and it's obviously beautiful. So I don't know, I'd like to think that I'm doing my best to carry on that legacy. We sit here at the foothills of the Rockies, and it's obviously beautiful. Is it the beauty that draws you here, or is it something more?

Yeah, I mean, I was very fortunate to grow up here. I feel very connected to this landscape, these mountains, these forests. As a young young kid i spent so much of my life out in nature my mom and my dad just like really uh underscoring just the importance of our connection to the land around us and um so for me it's been just like an important part of of my life and um yeah just my my like youth you know growing up in this in this beautiful place and it's been good to leave and explore and experience more always come back back here. See it as home. What is the connection that you feel to the land here in Boulder? Yeah. Honestly, even more than Boulder.

Like, I feel it. Like, when I go back to Mexico, I feel it a lot. Like, you really feel. Do you feel it more in Mexico than Boulder? I would say so just because, like, you can feel it energetically there. Like, I personally feel like I belong there a lot. You know, just because of how much of my family is out there and just, like, my father. All the stories he's told me of him growing up is, like, crazy different spiritual experiences.

And I don't know. There's just, like, a different energy in Mexico than there is here in the United States that I feel like I can tap into more. It's because, like, I don't know, my bloodline or however that works. What is the energy that you feel here in the United States regarding the environment? Yeah. What is the energy that you feel here in the United States regarding the environment? Yeah, I mean, for me, it's just I look at all life, everything from, you know, like the bugs and the grass and like these majestic landscapes and all of it. Like all of it is like I think a significant piece of life. And it's miraculous, really, like the fact that we are the perfect distance away from the sun with the perfect atmospheric composition where life can thrive and grow and balance. And like that's that's a miracle. So like I feel like traveling around this country is so, so beautiful.

It's like it's quite it's quite it's quite humbling. You know, we are part of something so big and like that gives us a massive responsibility to be caretakers of it. How does this landscape shape you? I think, like, growing up, part of who I... I think part of my connection to the work that I do as far as, like, organizing and leadership and activism has been because of kind of the way that I have like just falling in love with this with this land and um seeing seeing the impact that these different issues specifically have like on my home that's been kind of like one of the biggest driving forces literally seeing wildfires like destroying acres and acres and acres of forest i have like fallen in love with and seeing floods that have like destroyed you know friends of mine's homes and and kind of just like displaced and reshaped this landscape.

That has given me a personal connection to our climate crisis. It's really let me see what it actually is firsthand. What are you trying to do about that climate crisis? It's been a lifelong journey, honestly, of recognizing that politicians in office aren't doing their job, of protecting people and protecting the younger generation from the impacts of the global crisis that we see around us. So for me, it's been a huge balance of trying to live my life more sustainably and adopt that, but recognize that we need systemic change. We need change on all levels, from political to industrial,

to just seeing how our society works it's not in balance with the planet and like bringing that in is absolutely critical so I've known everything from you know getting involved on a local level to engage and inspire and teach other young people about this to traveling around the world and speaking at the United Nations and being a voice for the younger generation to talk about these issues in a way that's like how do we how do we become and kind of assume that role as young people of the generation that is going to claim leadership and actually be a part of creating the change the world needs um and this is like really multifaceted because because the problem and the crisis that we're facing is so massive so it's everything from from lifestyle to really looking

at like i think culturally there's just like a cultural disconnect that we have in this country and in the world that it makes it okay to extract and consume and use and pollute without really being aware of the impact that that has on the world around us. You started this at age six. What's your first memory of the environment? First memory of the environment? First memory of being involved in this stuff was getting up onto a stage when I was six

and really just like calling out calling out the parents um i remember getting up then and like a huge part of my message was like we aren't teaching the younger generation how to live in balance with the world like we are kind of passing on these same um ideologies of of consuming of more is better more is better um and like that that frustrated me because, like, I was raised so differently. I thought that's how all kids were raised. And so I started meeting other people and going to school and, like, seeing that that's not how all people were, like, raised. It's very different.

So definitely kind of my first reaction was, like, to really see that, I don't know, the balance wasn't there. And how has your message evolved over the last dozen years no for sure it's um i think it's kind of moved away from kind of this this initial idea that like what what the world the issues we are facing are environmental you know like that was i guess like my initial uh way that i understood when i saw things and i i think that from from then what I began to learn is that like climate change or environmental crisis, these things are reached so much further than just the boundaries of what we perceive and what we like categorize as environmental issues. And I think it's really important for people to see that and acknowledge that because honestly, a lot of

people in this country, a lot of people in the world don't care about or don't think about the environment. How has your message evolved over the last dozen years? Okay. Yeah, yeah. I think one of the most important things that I've learned in the last several years of being involved is that in order to make significant change in this world, we have to adequately tell the story of what is happening and what needs to change to the general public. And I don't think that story has been conveyed in the right way. I think we put the environment into a specific box

that gives the responsibility of addressing these issues to politicians and to activists. And the reality is a lot of people don't care about the environment. A lot of people don't want to be activists. I see that in my peer group as well. And so breaking down the story and really making it about a human issue is really important. Connecting it and making people understand and see how this is culturally so significant to the fabric of humanity.

This is more than just rising sea levels and extinction. This is about everything that we love about the world, from the relationships to the people to the culture to the moments, the music. That is what is at stake. That's what we've got to fight to protect. And also, you don't have to be an activist to care. You don't have to be an activist to make a difference. As journalists, as politicians, as hedge fund managers, as people that work in all different sects, as artists,

we have a responsibility to play that role. It's really up to us. Well, everyone's an environmentalist to a degree, aren't they? Because they use the environment. We need the environment. We can't separate ourselves from the environment. I definitely agree that we can't separate ourselves. I don't think everybody identifies as an environmentalist, though. I think that's like, I think it's become like a buzzword almost.

You know, it's like caring about the environment is like a liberal view, which is so silly because, as you said, we all drink water. We all breathe the same air. We're all dependent on it. So for some people, it's not like you convince them that we're all environmentalists, but we have to convince them that we all are connected to this massively important system. And we all, I don't know, people ask me, what do you say to people that have opposing views and such? And it's not about trying to convince them that you're right. It's about finding other ways to communicate that opens them up to these ideas and finding ways to reach more people.

And as an artist, in the work that I do as a hip-hop artist, I've seen that music opens people up in a way that getting up on a stage and giving a speech won't. And it reaches and acts as a whole different demographic of people that is really significant to look at that as an outlet and an avenue. And so we're seeing more and more artists and athletes and movie stars that are like taking different stances on social and political issues that matter to them because they realize the impact of their platform and how powerful it has a potential to be and for myself as an artist like that's another

part of the part of the puzzles like how can we really mobilize people because like things we're running out of time really quickly you know we have a very limited amount of time to be able to turn things around before it's too late. And like, we're going to spiral off into this exponential crisis. You are just 18. Do you see climate change narrowing your future? Definitely. I see climate change is one of the greatest threats to humanity, especially as a young person, because I'm going to be inheriting every issue we see around us from injustice and terrorism and oppression and racism and all these different issues we see. That's going to be left to our generation and those to follow.

And the reason I think that climate change is so critical is because I've learned enough about it that I've come to see that it's more than just an issue on the list that I think is important to care about, but it's like a lens in which we view all other issues. It's an umbrella that encompasses so many other things, from education to access to potable water to food, like transporting food and getting, having people have access to good food. Like, if we look at gender equality and women's rights, climate change is so tied into that. The demographic of people most affected by our climate crisis are women and children of color. And if you look at recent studies that have shown that one of the best and most cost-effective ways to address climate change is to educate women and advocate for their reproductive rights.

So it's like we can see that these intersections are present, and climate change is touching everything from our economy to our politics to national security, like things that everybody cares about, the money in their wallets, job security. These kind of things are really connected to our climate crisis, and it's important to recognize this. It's bigger than the environment. You listed terrorism, the economy, any number of issues. Where does climate fit on that list? Is it the most important issue you think that's facing your generation? Is it the third most important issue? Yeah i mean i i honestly think it's it's

one of the biggest because of how it encompasses so many other and because of how it touches and affects in in the impact it has on so many other things from if we look at like energy security and the creation of jobs like the future of our economies is not in fossil fuels the future of job creation is not in fossil fuels because renewable energy infrastructure and investing in that simply creates more jobs it's simply more economically like viable for looking at a long-term system within this country and like so i think i think climate change is the most important because it is an umbrella for all others and and not that it even is the most important but like in what i'm focusing on it's the most important because we all have like really important battles to fight and i can't do all of it, you know.

So that's where I'm putting my energy. And I feel like that's in a way to like actually adequately touch and affect, you know, lots of other systems that are broken. I think addressing a climate crisis is one of the most important things we have to do. And you're trying to do that in federal court. Yeah, that's true. I think it's been it's been a really ambitious several years of us since 2015 being involved in this federal lawsuit where myself and 21 other youth recognize that, first of all, politicians, Democrats, Republicans aren't doing the best job of representing our future, of fighting for a healthy, just, sustainable planet. And that's something that is absolutely critical, and we're looking at our Constitution. And our constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property are being violated because of our government's inability to act in accordance with these constitutional laws in place. So why are you suing the U.S. government?

We are demanding that the U.S. government take into consideration a prescription for a climate recovery plan that we have worked to create with some of the top climate scientists in the world to massively reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, to massively regulate our fossil fuel corporations, to massively transition towards renewable energy infrastructures, reforest the country, restore carbon back in the soil, to engage in a process that would make the United States one

of the leaders in climate action. That is the hope. We're not swimming for money. And it's been three years in the courts and we are finally headed to trial. We have a trial date. October 29th is when it has been set. And this is after, you know, the Obama administration filed a motion to dismiss, which was then denied at several different levels of the justice system. And now that it is in the hands of the Trump administration, there are further actions being done to try to slow down the process, to try to remove factual evidence from the hearing, to try to get it so the youth can't testify.

They are still, to this day, claiming that we don't have a right to be in court, even though several judges have already denied their motions to dismiss, denied their motions to keep us out of court, and granted us this trial date. So they haven't accepted the truth yet that we're going to trial. But it's been a long battle, and I'm incredibly excited to testify. I'm incredibly excited to be in that courtroom to have this case be heard. It's really important. It's us. You filed this, you and the 21 other kids, filed this in 2015. The president of the United States was Barack Obama then. He is the president who has done most to try to combat climate change.

I think a lot of people would be surprised to find out that you filed the lawsuit when Barack Obama was in the White House, not when Donald Trump was in the White House. Our tactic wasn't to wait until the worst politician came into office to take action. Because Obama didn't do enough, you know, in a lot of areas. Like I was really stoked that Obama got elected. You know, I was really advocating for him even in a time where I couldn't vote. And we still saw that Obama opened up more federal land than any president in history towards natural gas extraction.

And we see that he was not a climate hero in the way we needed him to be. And some of the big steps that he took, like denying the Queso Nexo pipeline to be built, that was because of years and years and years of on-the-grounds action, movements, protests, people changing themselves to the White House fence. That was because of people action that led him to make that decision. So yes, Obama did some good things. But again, this isn't about political parties. This isn't about, oh, we're suing the Republican Party. We're going to be on the side of the Democrats. For us, this is about our future. This is more than politics. This is more than the bipartisan issue. But why would you have faith in the government?

In your own lawsuit, it says the EPA came up with a plan in 1990 to cut carbon emissions. Clearly, the government didn't do anything about it. Why would you think that suing them now would force them to do something about it? So the hope is that in the light of using the judicial system, which is one of the three branches of government that has significant power, we are at a point in time where we are very quickly running out of options. And a lot of these things we have tried in the past and a lot of the agencies we have relied on in the past, as you were saying, have failed us, including the

government itself. And so we are at a point now where we are hoping that the U.S. Constitution, which is the fabric of a lot of what this nation is built upon, is going to be strong enough to uphold the justice that we deserve as American citizens, as young people in this nation. We are at a place where we are running out of a lot of options and protesting in the streets isn't enough. So for us, it's about diversifying the tactics and changing the way in which we do. We engage with the political process. And many of us as young people who can't vote don't have the ability to just elect a politician that is going to represent our voices.

And even so, the politicians we thought were going to represent our voices haven't done the best job. So this is just another tactic. And whether it works or not, it's like this is part of, I think, a cultural shift that is happening among people in this country that are realizing that things are going down really quickly. Go ahead. Are you surprised that the lawsuit is actually going to trial, among people in this country that are realizing that things are going down really quickly. And we look, go ahead. Are you surprised that the lawsuit is actually going to trial?

Has it gotten as far as it's gotten given the opposition from both a Democratic administration and a Republican administration? I am, I'm always optimistic. So I can't say I was surprised. But it's, I mean, I anticipated that we would make it this far, but it was, it's also like been such a mission, you know, it's been such a mission and lots of diversity every turn in the corner. And it's really remarkable that we've made it this far, honestly, like the fact that we have made it this far under a Trump administration is quite, quite amazing that, I don't know, we have prevailed to this point. You said you're going to testify. What do you want the court to hear? What do you want to tell the court?

I think that one of the most important things for me to convey is really kind of calling out the reality that this nation has known about our climate crisis since decades before the public did um government documents have shown that that the epa that that the government these fossil fuel corporations were aware that burning fossil fuels is contributing to a change in our climate and that it was going to have significant impacts on future generations. And not only did they do nothing, but they continued to fuel and open up federal lands and provide billions of dollars of subsidies for fossil fuel corporations. So our government and our fossil fuel industry has been kind of walking hand in hand since the beginning of the industrial revolution. It has continued to do so.

You want to break that bond? I think we need to recognize that that is one of the biggest breaches of governmental responsibility that we have seen in this country in a very long time. And we have heard the warnings, and they have known about it for a very long time, and I think it's time to break those ties in a way that is all about a transition we're not just saying we want to stop using energy it's not about you know going off and like living in the bush and abandoning technology I'm incredibly excited about technological development and new medicines and and space travel and and all that like there's there's so many things that need to continue to to grow and develop and as nation, I just believe that we need to do it in balance with the planet

and in a way that doesn't threaten future generations' ability to sustain life on this planet. I think there's a balance that we can reach that is both pro-progress and development and positive for the state of our world. Because as you said, we're all drinking water, we're all breathing air. You can see countries that have already kind of passed that limit, like China and the air quality. We don't want to get there. And for our children, for our grandchildren, there's still time to turn things around, I believe. I'm optimistic.

So pretend that I'm the federal judge. And if the federal judge says to you, how does this impact you, not the rest of the world, just you as an 18-year-old man in Colorado, what would you tell the judge? I think I was eight years old the first time we saw a wildfire on the mountains across the street from my house. And we were evacuated. What we began to see is there was kind of this growing trend of as weather patterns continued to shift, we were seeing more and more intense wildfires year after year in Colorado. I have several friends who have lost their homes in forest fires, who have lost everything in forest fires. We see, for myself, like growing up in these mountains and these beautiful spaces, like having a really deep sense of connection to

that has been an important part of my upbringing. And then because of pine beetle kill, which is becoming far more intensified due to a warming atmosphere, you drive into the mountains and you see massive swaths of forests that are just actually just brown and dead because of the pine beetle kill, which then is more dead trees, which is more intense forest fires, which is drier summers. It's a cycle that I've witnessed and experienced and felt here that I've personally seen impact people that I love. And if you look at the floods that have happened here as well, that's and we continue to see it more and more. I love to ski. Our ski seasons are getting shorter, more sporadic, more intense.

Yeah. So, I mean, it's a lot. And obviously, like Colorado isn't the place that is being hit the hardest. And these people here aren't being the worst impacted. And so there's there's a part of me that has just a natural human empathy that they're thinking about people in the south pacific their homes are being swallowed by the ocean as we speak and like i've been on i've been on skype calls interviewing for al jazeera with the president of kiribati which is a island in the south pacific and he literally was like for my people it's too late we have to evacuate the population of our island because of sea level rise. And we are not giving up.

We are not going to stop fighting, you know, and like that. That's what we're fighting for. I look at my little sister, you know. Well, people who, deniers, skeptics, opponents of climate change would say, look, the United States can't do it all ourselves. We're the second largest emitter in the world. So even if the united states were to change tomorrow you still have the rest of the world what do you say to that argument i think that the united states is one of the most influential countries on the planet if you look

like everywhere i travel everyone listens to american music everyone listens watches american tv shows like people want to be like the united states you know and i like whether that's a good or a bad thing like there's mcdonald's everywhere like we are we have like kind of you know been one of the most influential forces on the planet for a long time and I think very few people would disagree with that and so in an instance where where much of the world is interested in transitioning much of the world is kind of at that brink very few people are brave enough to take those steps and I think that the United States making a transition in the right direction, it doesn't mean it's going to solve everything.

It doesn't mean it's going to end climate change. That's not the point of the lawsuit, is to stop climate change with this one action. It's to pave the road and to lead the way so that countries across the planet can also help recognize it. If the most polluting country on the planet, if one of the most polluting country on the planet, if one of the most polluting countries on the planet can take this step,

then so can we. So if the judge were to rule in your favor, what would the outcome be? What would the United States look like? How would it change? It's kind of hard to say. We have this prescription, this prescription for a climate recovery plan that deals with everything from carbon sequestration and reforestation, but looks a lot at energy systems, too,

and transitioning away from the extractive fossil fuel economies. We would need a just transition towards renewable energies. That would probably be one of the biggest, most significant things. And instead of building pipelines, we'd be building power lines. And instead of employing people in coal and oil and natural gas, it would be solar and wind power and geothermal. And that would just radically reshape how we get our energy in this country. It would look very different.

It would look very different. Do you see the day where your house is powered on 100% renewable energy, where your car is powered by 100% renewable energy? where your car is powered by 100% renewable energy? Spaceship powered 100% renewables, all that, all that. That's the vision. I mean, people want to live in a beautiful, thriving, healthy, just, safe world. I think across the board, for the most part. And I think that part of that is energy,

and there's a lot of other issues that the world is facing but yeah like changing our energy structure and the way that we are getting energy from the world is is is one of them and i hope to you know multiple teslas in the garage like you know the whole the whole deal but like i don't know i think that that's also recognizing like what do we have to do for the rest of the world as well to make that transition and the united states is just like one piece of it and energy is just one piece of it and i think it's like a cultural shift that needs to happen too people need to wake up and realize that like what we do and how we live our lives affects the world affects people um how we treat people like that that ripples out so it's like we need an energetic we need a shift in the energy system and we need like a cultural shift as well i believe

you you you're a hip-hop artist how can you use hip-hop to change people's attitudes toward the environment definitely um there are artists like um like bob marley like um john lennon there's like all kinds of artists throughout throughout history raging against the machine um you know kendrick lamar like we see artists that have been influential in helping tell the stories of their time of being reflective of the movements and of the energy of their time. Rage Against the Machine was like angry and rebellious and like mobilized people like that. Bob Marley was all about like peace and love. And Galvanize is a different kind of movement.

And John Leno as well was about uniting people. Like, I think that movements have their songs and have their anthems and as an artist in the world today like I want to use my platform and use my music not just to change people's attitudes to the environment because like being too direct like that as like an environmental rapper that will close me off to massive demographical people and that's not the kind of music I just want to make so I think for me it's like finding that balance of of making art and music that people will listen to that people can relate to and that can like open up their hearts and not even just make them like believe in climate change,

but like make them feel something and inspire them. I think young people today in the world don't just need like an attitude shift in how they see the environment. We need support in a lot of ways. I see like a lot of young people are very disconnected, apathetic, hopeless, and many of them don't have meaningful ways to engage in the world. You know, I think when you talk about young people, and when I think about engaged young people today, I think about the kids at Parkland and what they've been able to do after a horrific incident

in a very short period of time as far as getting the nation to talk about guns in a more significant way than it has in the past. Can you take, do you see lessons that you can learn from the kids at Parkland that you can put to action in the environmental movement? They put a face on the movement. They put a face on the movement in a way that I don't think gun control like really had that much like people understood that yeah like we have an issue with gun control in this country and there are school shootings and movie theater shootings and like but up to that point I don't know it wasn't people I don't think it was personalized and people didn't really see as much of a human issue as they did until these kids really like spoke up and they had their like

the world knows their faces now. And it was something really powerful because it came from a place of not just statistics. It wasn't just like a bipartisan argument. It was like we, as young people, are being disproportionately affected by this crisis and we need our politicians to act. And it was like humanizing it

and turning it into a story rather than just statistics. Can you put your face on the environmental movement in the same way? I think there are a lot of young leaders in the world right now that are fighting for the environment, that are fighting for a just climate. And these 21 youths that are filing this lawsuit, I think that we are of those young people that will be the faces and the stories of this movement in the same way. I definitely think that that is part of the point of all of this, is to help bring a story

and a face and change the way we are communicating about climate change in a way where the world can connect to it. We can come together on this issue. Your parents, your mom's from Hawaii, your dad's an Aztec Mexican. What influence have your parents had on this activism of yours? You know, it's funny. When my dad was like 15 and 16, he was traveling around as an ambassador from Mexico talking about culture, spirituality, and the environment at the United Nations. I put a bunch of different youth forums and conferences. And I got my public speaking from my dad, for sure. He speaks from the heart.

Very, very good communicator. He showed me my personal connection to the world he like he helped me flush out my personal identity and how i'm connected to all this um he really helped me understand that to this day you know continues to do so he like learning a lot about like latin america and and the oppression and the revolutions and the injustice and how that kind of boils down to to the issues that we see perpetuated in the country still today and in the world today. He helped me open up my eyes to a lot of different ways in which I've seen the world. My mom, heavily involved in activism and environmentalism and founding my organization, Earth Guardians,

which is now a global youth organization working to give young people access to tools that they need to create change. My mom helped, and to this day is helping me run that part of my life. She is absolutely influential and inspiring and one of the strongest women I've ever met in my life. She helps my parents, my grandparents, the same thing. My grandpa on my dad's side is pioneering the way for resurging culture, the Aztec and the Mexica culture and teaching those traditions back to people all over the world, whereas, like, Grandpa on my mom's side is doing a lot of work around building communities

and getting people involved in sustainable communities. So it's just, like, a long lineage of people that are very involved in kind of shaping and shifting culture in a really positive way. It's a really supportive community, you know, to be a part of and a supportive family to, like, be born into, so grateful for that, for sure. And one last question about your lawsuit. I mean, you filed this lawsuit when you look

at the lawsuit, you filed the lawsuit against Barack Obama, the same Barack Obama who gave you a service award, who had you on his youth leadership council. As some parents would say, and that's the thanks he gets? No, I mean, I got mad respect for the guy, honestly. And I appreciate the recognition and the support he's offered me, you know, through the few different awards and such that he offered me. And for me, the lawsuit wasn't an attack on Obama. It wasn't an attack on him, and it wasn't a massive criticism. It was kind of calling out governments in general and the entire federal government for not doing enough.

And I think it is foolish to say that Obama did enough because the world is still warming. It's not like the warming stopped while he was president and picked up again when Trump got into office. Things were still going really badly. And he could have done more, I believe. And it's just important for us to exercise our democratic right to engage in the political process. And as young people who couldn't vote, that is how we wanted to reach them.

And it was from a place of, like, we want to make this country a better place the same way as you do, Barack. And he, in a lot of places, also couldn't make the changes he wanted to because of Congress. And so this was an effort to play our part. We can't just leave it up to our presidents to determine the course. Like, I don't want these next four years to be defined by Trump. You know, I feel like people will have a significant role to play in defining these next four years as well. And that's what we were doing. We were helping him out, you know, in a place where he wasn't doing enough

and maybe couldn't do enough. Like, we wanted to step in, you know. Do you think President Trump's going to see your lawsuit as help? Probably not. He's probably not going to look at it with very positive eyes. But I'm curious to hear him comment on it. It's going to be funny. He'll probably toot about it.

So what if you lose? What then? We will appeal. And if we lose that again, we will file another suit with a stronger claim. The thing is that day by day, we're seeing more and more effects on our climate than we have the previous year, than we have the previous months, the previous season. And all that is evidence in our lawsuit. Every time the Trump administration fast-tracks the building of a pipeline or undermines environmental protection set in place by the EPA or finds loopholes to allow natural gas companies to bypass the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, whatever, when these kind of things happen from our president, specifically, that's all evidence in the lawsuit that the government is failing to do their job in this way.

So our case is going to continue to get stronger, kind of unfortunately, as time passes. So we're going to keep fighting. And for myself, on a personal level, continuing to pursue creating and growing my platform as an artist to have a greater influence on the mainstream, like mainstream America and the mainstream world, and people that are just watching what's going on.

So the lawsuit is a piece of it. My organization, Earth Guardians, is a piece of it. My music is a piece of it. And it's all going to continue and persevere, regardless of whether we win this October or not. And it's got to be that mentality. Like, we can't give up. We've got to keep fighting. From Boulder, Colorado, I'm Anne Thompson, and you've been listening to NBC on Earth. you