Ten years ago, on this day, April 11th, 2010,
Pre-trial hearings were held in March 2016 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin. The U.S. Department of Justice argued that there was “no constitutional right to a pollution-free environment”, and that the court system was not the proper venue to affect such changes.[12] Coffin ruled in April (11th) 2016 recommending that both motions to dismiss were denied; Coffin found that while the case was “unprecedented”, it had sufficient merit to continue.[13]
https://mashable.com/2016/04/11/youth-climate-lawsuit/?europe=true
Juliana vs United States
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 404ppm. As of 2026 it is 428ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The broader context was that activists have at various times, used laws to force corporations and governments to do things.
The specific context was that one of James Hansen’s granddaughters and a bunch of other people had launched a legal case Juliana versus the United States.
What I think we can learn from this is that there’s no constitutional right to clean air, it turns out, anyway.
What happened next: They lost and Trump has removed the endangerment clause, so the EPA is free to do what the EPA wants to do, largely, which is ignore climate change.
Also on this day:
April 11th, 1987 – A matter of… Primo Levi’s death
April 11, 1989 – “Ark” sinks its cred
April 11 – Interview with Sophie Gabrielle about memes vs Armageddon….
April 11, 2014 – Greenpeace China releases coal report – All Our Yesterdays