In June 2023, a district court judge in Helena, Montana, ruled in favor of sixteen youth plaintiffs (ages 5 to 22) who sued the state over climate change. It was the first time in U.S. history that young people won a constitutional claim against their government on climate. It will not be the last. In fact, while Lahaina burned to ground from a deadly fire whose flames were fanned by climate change, fourteen youths (ages 9 to 18) in Hawaii, including two from West Maui, continued preparing for a climate trial scheduled for June 2024 that challenges the state to decarbonize its transportation system, the sector responsible for the biggest portion of state’s greenhouse gas emissions. And earlier this year, a constitutional climate case filed eight years ago by twenty-one youths ages 8 to 18 from across country against the federal government rose from the ashes of an earlier dismissal and is back on track toward trial.
Author, magazine writer, and speaker Elizabeth Rusch has been closely following these three cases and more around the United States and world. She is the author of The Twenty-One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the U.S. Government Over Climate Change, which received starred reviews from Kirkus, who called it “moving and absorbing” and Booklist, who described it as “action-packed,” “vivid,” and “inspiring.” Peoplemagazine listed it as a “Must-Read.” A New York Public Library best book of 2023, The Twenty-One has won the prestigious Golden Kit Award and is a finalist for the Russell Freedman Award for Nonfiction for a Better World.
Rusch is the award-winning author of more than 24 other books, which have received multiple starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Horn Book, Booklist, School Library Journal, and the BCCB, among others. Other environmental books include: The Next Wave: The Quest to Harness the Power of the Oceans and Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved our Planet. Her work has won the Golden Kite Award, the Subaru Prize, the Cook Prize, the Green Earth Award, and the Oregon Book Award, and has landed on many notable and best of the year lists produced by ALA, Kirkus, NBC News and the New York and Chicago Public Libraries. Rusch also the author of more than a hundred articles in publications such as The New York Times, Smithsonian, Harper’s, Backpacker, American Craft, Mother Jones, and Portland Monthly, among many others.
Her latest narrative nonfiction is A Greater Goal: The Epic Battle for Equal Pay in Women’s Soccer–and Beyond, which Kirkus called “thrilling” in its starred review.
Liz’s newest talk, “Do We Have a Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate?” gives audiences a clear and deep understanding of the youth-led, rights-based climate lawsuits that are transforming the legal landscape on the environment and offering real hope for our planet.
“Getting to meet Liz and spend time with her was almost as much fun as watching her work and enthrall the kids with her enthusiasm for writing. They had no idea that being a writer could be so exciting! Liz came to Newport’s schools bringing her enthusiasm, experience as a working writer, and wonderful stories that illustrate the lively research techniques she uses. She left students eager to get back to the classroom to identify resources that might lead them to such cool people and experiences; teachers nodding and smiling and scribbling notes while ideas for lessons poured out; writers inspired to seek new ways of informing their work – and one librarian satisfied in the knowledge that many had been enriched by Rusch’s visit. Highly recommended as a school/library presenter.” – Rebecca Cohen, Newport Public Library
