All interviews and quotations in this book were recorded and transcribed for accuracy, unless otherwise noted in the text. Scene description comes from the author’s own observations and from photographs of same, because the author has kind of a bad memory for such things.
It should be noted that the science used to describe climate impacts in this book is the broadest consensus science available on the date in which the recorded scene takes place. In other words, it is science that the US government either developed or accepted as fact between October 29, 2018, and November 4, 2019. Some of the science was significantly revised between the point at which a scene took place and the date of this book’s publication. For example, in late 2019, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revised its estimates for projected sea level rise, predicting sea levels may rise up to 8.2 feet by 2100, compared with the EPA’s previously estimated 4 feet, the level that Levi Draheim’s community used in planning documents. This outcome would affect millions more people than the 13 million projected to be impacted by sea level rise in studies cited from 2016. And scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did indeed tie climate change to increasing hurricane intensity in a study published in May 2020. Vanguard science by experts in the Juliana case predicted these findings. The author chose to illustrate the plaintiffs’ impacts with the more conservative science as a means of underscoring the severity of climate impacts even when that severity is constrained by consensus. Only science available on the date of the recorded scenes is used.
Chapter 1
Observations of the rally at the Wayne L. Morse federal courthouse in Eugene on October 29, 2018, are the author’s, and were fact-checked against the work of photographer Terray Sylvester, who was also there. Quotations from the speeches of Philip Gregory and Julia Olson, both attorneys for the plaintiffs, derive from the speeches themselves.
The term “no ordinary lawsuit” comes from the November 10, 2016, order from US District Court judge Ann Aiken, in which she denied the government’s motions to dismiss the Juliana case.
Quotes from Kiran Oommen following the canceling of their deposition on October 20, 2018, were directly observed by the author, as were the coffee shop and the attending incongruent music. Kiran supplied background about their own activism both during this interview and in subsequent interviews until January 2020.
Kelsey Juliana’s quotes are from interviews on September 25, 2018, at Amazon Park in Eugene and on October 29, 2018, at the courthouse rally. The timing of Greta Thunberg’s protests at the Swedish parliament comes from the Time article “2019 Person of the Year—Greta Thunberg” by Charlotte Alter, Suyin Haynes, and Justin Worland.
Retweets of Our Children’s Trust tweets by Ellen DeGeneres and Leonardo DiCaprio were observed by the author on September 13, 2016, and August 7, 2018. Information about media outlets’ plans for extended trial coverage came from interviews with Meg Ward, former communications and youth engagement director of Our Children’s Trust, between March 2018 and January 2020.
The description of Xiuhtezcatl Martinez’s speech at age six comes from a YouTube video of the speech titled “Xiuhtezcatl—First Public Speech at 6 Yrs Old” posted by Earth Guardians. Similarly, Xiuhtezcatl’s speech to the UN General Assembly is available via YouTube in the video “Xiuhtezcatl, Indigenous Climate Activist at the High-level Event on Climate Change” posted by the United Nations. Xiuhtezcatl’s appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher can also be viewed on YouTube in the video “Xiuhtezcatl Martinez: We Rise | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO).” Xiuhtezcatl’s appearance on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah is available for streaming on Comedy Central via the article “Xiuhtezcatl Martinez—Taking on Climate Change with ‘We Rise.’” General background about Xiuhtezcatl also derives from his book (with Justin Spizman), We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement That Restores the Planet. Xiuhtezcatl’s Trump meme was observed on his Twitter account on August 12, 2018, and determined to be a fake in a phone interview with Xiuhtezcatl on November 9, 2019.
Information about the president’s views on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals comes from the Washington Examiner article “Exclusive Interview: Trump ‘Absolutely’ Looking at Breaking Up 9th Circuit” by Sarah Westwood and from the analysis “In His Own Words: The President’s Attacks on the Courts” published by the Brennan Center for Justice.
Legal perspectives on the Trump administration’s use of the writ of mandamus come from Amy Howe’s reporting for the SCOTUSblog, specifically “In a Letter, Government ‘Suggests’ Hold for Trial in Census Citizenship Dispute” and from the paper “The Supreme Court, 2018 Term—Comment: The Solicitor General and the Shadow Docket” by Stephen I. Vladeck. Vladeck’s work examines the politicization of the solicitor general and is relied on for tallies of writs used during the Trump administration. Vladeck’s essay “The Solicitor General and the Shadow Docket” in the Harvard Law Review provides additional context. Other cases affected by emergency writs are also from the above sources.
For details of the timing of Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the US Supreme Court, the author relied on “Brett Kavanaugh’s Nomination: A Timeline” by Sophie Tatum at CNN.
Quotes from Vic Barrett are from an interview at the Wayne L. Morse federal courthouse in Eugene on October 29, 2018.
The global fate of raccoons derives from an article by Karine Aigner for National Geographic titled “Raccoons Are Spreading Across Earth—and Climate Change Could Help.” Information about species extinction was sourced from the New York Times article “Humans Are Speeding Extinction and Altering the Natural World at an ‘Unprecedented’ Pace” by Brad Plumer.
Kiran Oommen’s lyrics are reprinted with their permission.
Chapter 2
Jacob Lebel’s quotes and the description of his farm and farmhouse come from interviewing him there and touring the farm on August 29, 2018.
Narrative about the remedies the Juliana plaintiffs seek in terms of remediation from the agencies sued in their litigation derives from Jacob’s explanation and was fact-checked against the court record, from which additional detail was culled. Additional information derives from an op-ed by Jacob in the Globe and Mail headlined: “Why I’m Taking My Government to Court on Climate Change.”
Background on Urgenda Foundation v. The State of the Netherlands comes from the case summary by the same name on eLaw, the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide website, and also from the New York Times article “In ‘Strongest’ Climate Ruling Yet, Dutch Court Orders Leaders to Take Action” by John Schwartz.
Details about rising global temperatures come from the article “Global Climate Change Vital Signs of the Planet” on the NASA website. Additional information about the impacts of climate breakdown come from the Climate Change page of the Global Issues section of the United Nations website.
Information about Arcosanti comes from the Arcosanti website and the YouTube video “The City of the Future Is Already Here,” posted by The Atlantic.
The court record was also used to describe the plaintiffs’ process of proving standing, specifically the arguments made by both the Obama and Trump administrations in their respective defenses against the Juliana litigants.
Information about the changing length of the Oregon fire season comes from a report by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute entitled “Impact of Oregon’s 2017 Wildfire Season—Time for a Crucial Conversation.” Additional detail about fire impacts in the West comes from the Associated Press article “Science Says: Hotter Weather Turbocharges US West Wildfires” by Seth Borenstein.
The text exchange between Jacob Lebel and Alex Loznak was provided by Alex via screenshots, with Jacob’s permission. It has been edited for brevity, with redaction of personal information noted.
Description of the Pacific Connector route between Jacob’s and Alex’s farms derives from the author’s travels, from project maps published by the Center for Biological Diversity in the press release “Lawsuit Filed to Stop 677-mile Ruby Pipeline and Protect Endangered Fish,” from a map of the Pacific Connector published on the Jordan Cove LNG website, and from a map of the Pacific Crest Trail published online by the Pacific Crest Trail Association. Background about the Pacific Connector project and the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas terminal comes from the Jordan Cove LNG website and from the Washington Post article “Top Trump Adviser Calls for Reviving Controversial Natural Gas Project on Oregon’s Coast” by Chris Mooney and Damian Paletta. Additional background about Gary Cohn, economic advisor to Trump, comes from his Wikipedia entry and was fact-checked against the original sources listed there. Additional background regarding the Pacific Connector and the Jordan Cove LNG terminal comes from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s December 17, 2009, order on the project.
Alex Loznak’s quotes and the description of his farm, animals, and family home come from interviewing him there and touring the farm on August 28, 2018, and from subsequent interviews through January 2020.
Michael Gerrard’s quotes derive from phone interviews on January 17, 2020, and February 5, 2020. Additional information about the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory was verified online.
The episode of The Daily Show featuring Parkland youth is available on YouTube as “Parkland Shooting Survivors School Congress on Gun Violence: The Daily Show.”
Information about Brett Kavanaugh’s record of decisions on greenhouse gas regulation comes from the Inside Climate News article “What Brett Kavanaugh on Supreme Court Could Mean for Climate Regulation” by Marianne Lavelle. The previously cited CNN article “Brett Kavanaugh’s Nomination: A Timeline” by Sophie Tatum was also used to reconstitute the order of events in the chapter.
Chapter 3
Nick Venner’s quotes and the description of his home and community come from interviewing Nick at his home on September 17, 2018, from subsequent interviews with Nick through March 2020, and from spending time in his hometown on September 16 and 17, 2018. Perspective from Marie Venner, Nick’s mother, comes from speaking with her on September 17, 2018, in her home.
Material attributed to Nick’s pleadings in the Juliana case was sourced from the court record.
Information about the 2018 fire season comes from the author’s own observations and from the article “Colorado’s 2018 Wildfire Season Is One of the Worst on Record, and It’s Not Over Yet” by Kirk Mitchell for the Denver Post.
Description of pine beetle damage in Rocky Mountain National Park comes from the author’s observations on September 18, 2018, and from a phone interview with Colorado State Forest Service entomologist Dan West on July 22, 2019. Additional background information about pine beetle impacts to Rocky Mountain National Park and other western forests comes from the US Forest Service website and the Colorado State Forest Service website, from the “2017 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests—Meeting the Challenge of Dead and At-Risk Trees” from the State of Colorado, from the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Climate Hot Map, and from the “Mountain Pine Beetle” fact sheet by D. A. Leatherman, I. Aguayo, and T. M. Mehall posted on the Colorado State University Extension website. Information about the average temperature at Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park comes from weather averages compiled by Google. Additional details used in the description of tree pitch come from the Sciencing article “The Difference Between Tree Sap and Tree Resin” by Donald Miller.
Facts about straw usage and the straw boycott come from Brenna Houck’s article “Why the World Is Hating on Plastic Straws Right Now,” published by Eater. Details of the plastics found on beaches during worldwide cleanups come from the Ocean Conservancy report “Building a Clean Swell.”
Information about the Drawdown Plan derives from the plan itself, available at Drawdown.org.
The twelve-year-old fellow Coloradan referenced in relation to her boycott of Home Depot is Haven Coleman, codirector of US Youth Climate Strike. Haven’s rationale for the boycott was relayed to the author in a phone interview on March 10, 2019. Information about Home Depot’s response to the CDP climate survey comes from Gizmodo’s reporting on the same, specifically Brian Kahn’s article “How Brands Think They Can Make a Buck Off Climate Change.”
Chapter 4
Jayden Foytlin’s quotes and the description of her home, the Atchafalaya Basin, and the L’eau Est La Vie camp come from interviewing Jayden and visiting the camp and the pipeline construction with her on October 9, 2018. Cherri Foytlin was present for much of the day, and Cherri’s quotes come from conversation with her in the same context. Both Jayden and Cherri were reinterviewed with follow-up questions on October 29, 2019.
Information about the Atchafalaya Basin comes from the US Geological Survey’s Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment System for the region. Details about the route, materials, and cargo for the pipelines described in this chapter come from the article “Bayou Bridge Testing Support for More Crude Takeaway to Gulf Coast” by Carolyn Davis for NGI’s Shale Daily, from BakkenPipelineMap.com, and from maps available on the Water Is Life website.
Facts about the Louisiana floods of 2016 and climate change come from the Guardian article “Climate Change Made Louisiana’s Catastrophic Floods Much More Likely” by Oliver Milman. Additional detail about Louisiana rainfall comes from the study “Synoptic and Quantitative Attributions of the Extreme Precipitation Leading to the August 2016 Louisiana Flood” by S.-Y. Simon Wang, Lin Zhao, and Robert R. Gillies.
Writing about the history of the Jennings oil field, and biographical information about Jules Clement, comes from the American Oil and Gas Historical Society’s newsletter, specifically the article “Acadia Parish Oil Seeps Helped Discover the Jennings Oilfield in 1901,” which is available online. Additional information about Spindletop derives from an article by the same name on the History Channel website. The government’s assessment of the oil reserves in Louisiana was detailed in the US Geological Survey’s Bulletin 429, titled “Oil and Gas in Louisiana with a Brief Summary of the Occurrence in Adjacent States.”
Background on how oil is found comes from the Croft Production Systems website.
Figures on energy use equivalent to the 9 million barrels produced by the Jennings oil field at its peak come from the EcoSalon article “Gulf Oil Spill by the Numbers: 16 Different Ways to Understand the Disaster” by Susan Chaityn Lebovits.
Information about oil and gas facilities in Louisiana comes from the Louisiana Geological Survey document “Louisiana Petroleum Facts” from its February 2000 Public Information Series No. 2. Economic impact data for Louisiana comes from the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association’s website and the report “The Energy Sector: Still Giant Economic Engine for the Louisiana Economy—An Update” by Loren C. Scott for the Grow Louisiana Coalition.
Reporting on the oil and gas industry generally was greatly informed by Paul Roberts’s book The End of Oil. The present-day description of oil and gas commodities and their relationship to the stock market comes from OilPrice.com, “Why Oil No Longer Rules the Stock Market” by Alex Kimani. Context of oil and gas investments as percentage of the S&P 500 comes from the Zacks article “Oil Companies That Trade on the Stock Market” by Tim Plaehn.
Information about the criminalization of pipeline protest comes from the Grist article “After Standing Rock, Protesting Pipelines Can Get You a Decade in Prison and $100K in Fines” by Naveena Sadasivam. Additional detail about moonlighting officers comes from the article “Louisiana Law Enforcement Officers Are Moonlighting for a Controversial Pipeline Company” by Karen Savage on The Appeal website. Alleen Brown’s articles for the series “Oil and Water” on The Intercept were also critical to the author’s understanding of law enforcement’s relationship with pipeline construction operations and the criminalization of resisters, specifically “The Infiltrator” and “‘The Scales Are Tipped’: Emails Show Louisiana’s Close Relationship with Oil Industry, Monitoring of Pipeline Opponents.”
Detail about penalties for protest of critical infrastructure in America comes from the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, specifically the US Protest Law Tracker on its website. Additional context was provided by Elly Page, as was her quote, in a phone interview on March 18, 2020. As of April 6, 2020, the district attorney for St. Martin Parish has not prosecuted Cherri Foytlin and other protesters for felony penalties available under new Louisiana state law, instead opting to issue fines.
Birds in the White Lake Wetlands conservation area were identified using the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries bird identification card for the area. Descriptions of the region are the author’s own. Kinetica’s barge terminal for liquefied natural gas was identified through the company’s website.
Reporting on the portion of stimulus funds dedicated to alternative fuels comes from the report “Assessing ‘Green Energy Economy’ Stimulus Packages: Evidence from the US Programs Targeting Renewable Energy” by Luis Mundaca and Jessika Luth Richter. The author’s description of the energy industry’s reaction to the Juliana suit, including seeking standing and challenging the suit for two years, comes from the court record. ExxonMobil’s spending on climate denialism is documented in the ZME Science article “9 Out of 10 Top Climate Change Deniers Linked with ExxonMobil” by Mihai Andrei and in the Greenpeace article “Exxon’s Climate Denial History: A Timeline” on the Greenpeace website.
Information about Trump administration appointees David Bernhardt, Frank Fannon, Mike Catanzaro, and Sean Cunningham comes from the following articles: “DOE Coal Rule Might Help Client of Ex-Lobbyist Who Crafted It” by Benjamin Storrow and Hannah Northey for E&E News; “Trump Pick for State Department Energy Job Approved by Senate Panel” by staff for Reuters; and “Meet the Fossil Fuel All-Stars Trump Has Appointed to His Administration” by David Roberts for Vox.
The author’s description of Crawfish: The Musical comes from a Facebook Live video of the performance.
Chapter 5
The explanation of the Ninth Circuit district courts’ history in intervening in disputes through structured partnerships comes from an interview with Mary Christina Wood at the University of Oregon School of Law on June 13, 2009, and from her book Nature’s Trust: Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age, as does background information on the Fish Wars.
Information about the history and geology of Oregon was gathered at the Oregon Historical Society Museum in Portland, with some details about environmental policies and current events from the author’s own knowledge. The length of the state’s coast was sourced from Google and Wikipedia. Facts regarding Nez Perce fishers come from the book Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. Information about the materials used by Native American tribes comes from work by David G. Lewis, specifically the article “Houses of the Oregon Tribes” on his website NDN History Research.
Details about Willamette Valley agriculture are reported from the US Department of Agriculture Statistics website, specifically the article “USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service Oregon Field Office”; from the Seattle Times article “What’s New, What’s Novel in Oregon’s Willamette Valley Wine Country” by Brian J. Cantwell; and from the Wikipedia entry on the valley, checked against original sources and reviewed for accuracy. Additional details come from the author’s knowledge.
Zealand Bell’s quotations derive from an interview at his home on September 26, 2018. Zealand’s parents, Michael Bell and Kim Pash-Bell, were interviewed the same day.
Avery McRae’s quotes and description of her home come from an interview with Avery there on September 24, 2018, as well as follow-up interviews through October 15, 2019. Avery’s parents, Matt and Holly McRae, were interviewed with Avery on September 24, 2018, and Matt McRae was subsequently interviewed through October 15, 2019.
Details regarding mass extinction and the ocean impacts of climate change come from the United Nations report “Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating,’” available on its website, and from the expert report of Ove Hoegh-Guldberg for the Juliana case.
Information about Hazel van Ummersen comes from Hazel and an interview with her at her home on July 25, 2019. Sahara Valentine was similarly interviewed on July 31, 2019, at Spencer Butte in Eugene.
Reportage about why the Juliana case was dismissed comes from the court record.
Observations of Halloween at the McRae home are the author’s.
Chapter 6
The quote in the chapter’s opening comes from Jeffrey Bossert Clark, given in response to the one question allowed while waiting for the elevator in the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse in Portland on June 4, 2019, following the hearing before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the Juliana case there.
The author’s analysis of the government’s defense strategy comes from her own observation, from interviews with attorneys for the plaintiffs between October 2018 and January 2020, and from reading former Shell advisor Michael Liebreich’s analysis of climate litigation in BloombergNEF, specifically the article “Liebreich: Climate Lawsuits—An Existential Risk to Fossil Fuel Firms?”
Ann Carlson’s quotes derive from a phone interview on February 18, 2020.
Sources of figures on fossil fuel industry spending on climate disinformation are compiled in the endnotes for Chapter 12. Comments attributed to Chevron attorney Ted Boutrous derive from the article “Chevron’s Lawyer, Speaking for Major Oil Companies, Says Climate Change Is Real and It’s Your Fault” by Sarah Jeong and Rachel Becker, published on The Verge.
Background information regarding Jeffrey Bossert Clark was compiled through several sources, the first being the author’s research on the government’s PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system, looking closely at the federal cases for which Clark was the listed attorney. Also used were Clark’s biography on the Department of Justice website and Clark’s biography on and contributions to the Federalist Society website. Comments attributed to Clark’s talk at the National Lawyers Convention convened by the Federalist Society in 2010 come from a video of the talk, available on the Federalist Society website, called “EPA: An Agency Gone Wild or Just Doing Its Job?—Event Audio/Video.” Clark’s commentary for PJ Media can be found on the organization’s website in the article “Can the EPA Rely on UN Science?” Additional background comes from the Inside Climate News article “Senate Confirms BP Oil Spill Lawyer, Climate Policy Foe as Government’s Top Environment Attorney” by Marianne Lavelle and also from the E&E Special Report “Trump’s Top Environment Lawyer: Don’t Chain Me to a Desk” by Ellen M. Gilmer.
The quotation from Mary Christina Wood is from an interview with Wood at the University of Oregon School of Law on June 13, 2009.
Information about public perception of climate change and fear of climate remediation comes from public polls and research. The referenced reports are “Climate Change in the American Mind” from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication by Anthony Leiserowitz et al.; “Surveying American Attitudes toward Climate Change and Clean Energy” by Jon Krosnik for Resources for the Future; “The Ideology of Climate Change Denial in the United States” by Jean-Daniel Collomb for the European Journal of American Studies; and the poll “Is the Public Willing to Pay to Help Fix Climate Change?” by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
Subsequent reportage on pending expert testimony in the case comes from the expert witness reports and responses filed by experts prior to October 29, 2018. Quotes from the experts, save the passage from Mark Jacobson where the author indicates having posed a question to him, come from the expert reports in the court record. The fees charged by the experts were disclosed in their reports. The noted interview with Mark Jacobson occurred via telephone on December 5, 2019. The lawsuit involving Jacobson and other scientists was checked against court documents.
Greta Thunberg’s full speech to the United Nations is available on YouTube in the video “Greta Thunberg’s Full Speech to World Leaders at UN Climate Action Summit” posted by PBS NewsHour.
Background on the Scopes trial comes from the article “Scopes Monkey Trial Begins” on the History Channel website. Information about the media outlets planning extended trial coverage comes from interviews with Meg Ward, former communications and youth engagement director of Our Children’s Trust, between March 2018 and January 2020.
The author’s characterization of stakeholders in the Juliana case who filed friend briefs on behalf of the plaintiffs derives from the court record. Information about how the Juliana legal team would have presented the plaintiffs’ case in court comes from a phone interview with attorney Julia Olson on October 26, 2018. Sophie Kivlehan’s comments about James Hansen’s public speaking style come from a phone interview with Sophie on September 5, 2018.
Chapter 7
Quotes and statements attributed to Levi and Leigh-Ann Draheim, as well as the description of the Satellite Beach ecosystem, come from an interview with both on October 10, 2018, in Satellite Beach, and from follow-up interviews with Levi on October 29, 2018, in Oregon and by phone on October 18, 2019. Wind speeds the date of our first meeting come from Weather Underground and the weather history for the date for Melbourne, Florida.
Information about how climate change influences storm frequency and intensity comes from the EPA document “What Climate Change Means for Florida” and the article “Global Warming and Hurricanes: An Overview of Current Research Results” on the website of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. General information about hurricane season comes from the Sun Sentinel article “Hurricane Season Will Soon Enter Peak Period: Latest Forecast Released.”
Information about sea level rise projected for Florida comes from the EPA document “What Climate Change Means for Florida,” the expert report of Harold Wanless for the Juliana case, and the Sea Level Rise Viewer on the website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The City of Satellite Beach Sustainability Action Plan by Z. Eichholz and K. Lindeman was a reference for information about the projected effects of sea level rise for the community and the nature of the area’s near-shore coquina rock reef. Additional detail about coquina rocks comes from the Florida State Park website. Other information about projected sea level rise for Satellite Beach comes from the slideshow “Assessing Municipal Vulnerability to Predicted Sea-Level Rise: City of Satellite Beach, Florida” by Randall W. Parkinson for the Space Coast Climate Change Initiative. General background about sea beans comes from the website seabean.com. Information about the city’s application of sand to its beaches comes from the Florida Today article “Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach Sand Project to Begin in December” by Jim Waymer.
Reportage on Hurricane Michael comes from the National Weather Service website, specifically the articles “Catastrophic Hurricane Michael Strikes Florida Panhandle October 10, 2018” and “Hurricane Michael PSH,” and also from the FEMA website article “Hurricane Michael Recovery Resources—Florida.”
Descriptions of the Satellite Beach sewer and stormwater systems come from Leigh-Ann and were fact-checked against the Florida Today article “‘Be prepared:’ Hurricane Dorian to Test Water and Sewer Systems in Brevard” by Jim Waymer.
Additional information about manatees and their habitat in the Indian River Lagoon system comes from the Defenders of Wildlife website, the map “Critical Habitat for the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus) as Defined in the Code of Federal Regulations 50 Parts 1 to 199, Revised as of October 1, 2000,” and the website of the Center for Biological Diversity. Mortality rates for sea turtles derive from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission data on sea turtle stranding, available on the commission’s website, and from Brevard County, in the article “Brevard Endangered and Threatened Species” on its website. Additional information about climate change effects on sea turtles comes from the report “Climate Change Impacts on Florida’s Biodiversity and Ecology” by Beth Stys et al.
Details of Hurricane Michael’s impact on Bay County, Florida, and on its children come from the report “Bay County, Florida, Long-Term Recovery Plan” by Robert Carroll et al. Additional context for the Florida Mental Health Act of 1971 (commonly known as the Baker Act), the law under which the state took 122 children into protective custody, comes from a user reference guide from the University of South Florida and the “Baker Act” article on the University of Florida Health website. Lise Van Susteren’s projections of compound trauma from climate disasters come from her expert report for the Juliana case. Ken Chisholm’s quotes come from a phone interview on October 7, 2019.
Levi’s listed media interviews can be found online.
Chapter 8
Information about the window of time world leaders have to halt climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, comes from the New York Times article “Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040” by Coral Davenport and from the report itself, which is called “Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5º C” and is available on the IPCC website.
Julia Olson’s quotes and statements derive from interviews at and around her office on June 14, 2019, and October 16, 2019. Additional context was culled from her keynote address at the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Oregon in 2018, a video of which is available online on the Our Children’s Trust Facebook page. General information about NORAD comes from the NORAD website.
Statements attributed to Kelsey Juliana come from interviews and conversations with Kelsey between September 25, 2018, at Amazon Park in Eugene, and March 11, 2020. Scene detail from her speeches derives from Kelsey.
The description of Mary Christina Wood’s theories and of atmospheric trust litigation, generally, comes from an interview with Mary Christina Wood at the University of Oregon School of Law on June 13, 2009; from her book, Nature’s Trust: Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age; from the article “Atmospheric Trust Litigation—Paving the Way for a Fossil-Fuel Free World” by Ipshita Mukherjee posted on Stanford Law School’s SLS Blogs; and from the chapter on atmospheric trust litigation authored by Wood in the book Climate Change: A Reader, edited by W. H. Rodgers, Jr., and M. Robinson-Dorn.
Reportage on the first strategic meeting of attorneys filing the 2011 atmospheric trust lawsuits comes from the October 16, 2019, interview with Olson, as well as from a phone interview with Victoria Loorz on January 14, 2020; a phone interview with Alec Loorz on January 21, 2020; and a phone interview with Philip Gregory on December 5, 2019. Alec Loorz’s quotes derive from the January 21 interview, as does certain background information about him. Other background information about Alec was provided by his mother, Victoria, in the January 14 interview. Information about the content of the meeting and subsequent case strategy comes from the Olson and Gregory interviews, as does additional detail on the initial meeting.
Alex Loznak’s quotes come from the August 28, 2018, interview on his farm. Alex provided scans of the 1961 exchange between President Kennedy and Representative Clinton Anderson, as well as a scan of the printed article, which was written by John von Neumann. The article, called “Can We Survive Technology?” is also available on the Fortune website. Additional information about von Neumann was sourced from Wikipedia and checked against the original sourcing for accuracy. The documents that were identified as those demonstrating government knowledge of climate change on the butcher paper mural in Olson’s office were photographed and independently verified.
Much of the author’s writing about intergenerational justice comes from reading the following: Douglas Coupland’s Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture; Jeff Gordinier’s X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft But Can Still Keep Everything from Sucking; the UPI article “Many Gen Xers Desolate as They Reach Middle Age, Study Says”; the study “In Times of Extreme Weather Events: Gen Z and Information Seeking about Climate Change on Digital Media” by Ujunwa Melvis Okeke; the white paper “Irony Politics and Gen Z” by Joshua Citarella; and the author’s own mental archive of Gen X artifacts. Many movies were harmed in the making of this attitude.
The statistic detailing the percentage of Americans concerned about climate change by age comes from the Gallup poll “Global Warming Age Gap: Younger Americans Most Worried” by R. J. Reinhart. Historian and journalist Bill Kovarik was interviewed by phone on October 10, 2019. The white paper about Gen Z’s flare for ironic humor is Joshua Citarella’s “Irony Politics and Gen Z,” available on Citarella’s website.
Andrea Rodgers was interviewed by phone on October 4, 2019, and provided background information about herself and her family’s legal history. Olson provided additional background information about Rodgers’s hire.
Chapter 9
Plaintiffs featured in this chapter were interviewed on the following dates and in the following ways: Nick Venner by phone on May 21, 2019; Jayden Foytlin by phone on October 29, 2019; Alex Loznak in person in New York on March 22, 2019; Avery McRae at her home on October 15, 2019; Kiran Oommen at the Twilight Café in Portland on December 17, 2018; Aji Piper at Director Park in Portland on June 4, 2019; Levi Draheim by phone on October 18, 2019; and Isaac Vergun at the Tualatin Hills Nature Park on January 12, 2019.
Current events detailed in this chapter derive from the author’s own database of news reports for November 2018. The data was compiled from the Society of Environmental Journalists’ news digest of environmental stories, EJ Today, and includes 142 articles from a variety of sources, including The Guardian, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Huff Post, CBS, Reuters, The Hill, Inside Climate News, EnergyWire, Bloomberg, The Nation, E&E News, the Associated Press, Newsweek, Reveal, NPR, Greenwire, Vox, BuzzFeed, and local sources. Additional information about butterflies comes from the WWF website.
It was The Walrus that predicted “America’s Next Civil War” in the article by the same name by Stephen Marche.
Information about the Trump administration’s rollbacks to environmental policy prior to November 2018 comes from the National Geographic article “A Running List of How President Trump Is Changing Environmental Policy” by Michael Greshko et al. Further analysis of the relationship between climate trends and migration to the United States from nations to the south comes from the New Yorker article “How Climate Change Is Fuelling the U.S. Border Crisis” by Jonathan Blitzer.
It was Vox that reported on the Republican party’s attention to climate change in the 2018 elections in the article “Governor Races Really Matter for Climate Change. Here Are the Ones to Watch” by Umair Irfan. Additional detail about the Green New Deal comes from the HuffPost article “Democrats’ Green New Deal Wing Takes Shape Amid Wave of Progressive Climate Hawk Wins” by Alexander Kaufman.
Reportage on case developments in November 2018 derives from the court record and from a press-issued statement from Phil Gregory. Observations from the City Club of Eugene event are the author’s. The quotation from Stephen I. Vladeck is from his essay “The Solicitor General and the Shadow Docket” in the Harvard Law Review.
The elongated object headed for Earth came to attention via David Freeman’s NBC article “Scientists Say Mysterious ‘Oumuamua Object Could Be an Alien Spacecraft.”
Chapter 10
Trump’s “enemy of the American people” comments are documented in the New York Times article “Trump Calls the News Media the ‘Enemy of the American People’” by Michael M. Grynbaum. Additional information about attacks on journalists in America and abroad comes from the Reporters Without Borders website, specifically its US Press Freedom Tracker. Additional context comes from the article “Trump’s Attacks on the Press Empower Would-Be Dictators” by Pat Perriello for the National Catholic Reporter and from Suzanne Nossel’s article “Trump’s Attacks on the Press Are Illegal. We’re Suing” for Politico.
It was a Gallup poll that established public confidence in media was at an all-time low on October 12, 2018. The poll is available through the Gallup website in the article “US Media Trust Continues to Recover from 2016 Low” by Jeffrey M. Jones.
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez was interviewed by phone on November 9, 2019. Additional information about his life comes from his book (with Justin Spizman), We Rise: The Earth Guardians Guide to Building a Movement That Restores the Planet, from the video “Kid Warrior—The Xiuhtezcatl Martinez Story” posted on YouTube by Yahya Yayato, and from the Denver Post article “‘I’m in Love with a World That’s Falling Apart’: Meet the 16-Year-Old from Boulder Trying to Save the Planet” by Bethany Ao.
Ross Gelbspan’s book Boiling Point provided context on climate disinformation and the role of George W. Bush in fostering climate denial. Quotes and statements attributed to Bill Kovarik come from a phone interview on October 10, 2019. Similarly, quotes and statements attributed to Jim Detjen come from a phone interview on October 17, 2019. Quotes and statements attributed to Joe Davis come from a phone interview on October 4, 2019. Quotes and statements attributed to Phil Shabecoff are from a phone interview on October 21, 2019.
Additional context on media coverage of the environment comes from background conversation with colleagues. Additional background about the history of the Society of Environmental Journalists comes from the SEJ website and the article “SEJ’s Creation.” Analysis of coverage of youth and climate comes from the Columbia Journalism Review article “How Teen Climate Activists Get—and Make—Climate News” by Abby Rabinowitz.
Information about spending on climate disinformation in the last twenty years comes from Robert Brulle’s work, and writing on the same in the articles “Report: Fossil Fuel Industries—The Goliath of Climate-Related Lobbying Efforts, Spent Billions” and “Not Just the Koch Brothers: New Drexel Study Reveals Funders Behind the Climate Change Denial Effort,” the latter by Alex McKechnie, both for the Drexel University website.
Contextual information about the panelizing and infotaining of news comes from the Washington Post article “How Breaking News Got Panelized: On Cable, Journalists and Pundits Increasingly Share Space” by Paul Farhi.
Reporting on the work of Naomi Oreskes comes from her book Merchants of Doubt, authored with Erik M. Conway; from the film by the same name; and from Oreskes’s Science article “The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change.” Additional detail about the signers of the Oregon Petition comes from the Associated Press article “Odd Names Added to Greenhouse Plea” by H. Josef Hebert. Information about the work of James Hoggan comes from his appearance on The Green Interview, available through the show’s website. Information about DeSmog’s Climate Disinformation Research Database, specifically the number of entries, comes from Ashley Braun, managing editor of DeSmog Blog. Details of specific entries are the author’s observations.
Background on C. Everett Koop comes from his Wikipedia entry, with source material verified and links to his original papers reviewed. Tobacco industry tactics on disinformation come from the paper “Inventing Conflicts of Interest: A History of Tobacco Industry Tactics” by Allan Brandt.
Facts about other surgeon generals’ positions on issues stem from the following articles: “Surgeon General Calls Climate Change a ‘Serious, Immediate and Global Threat to Human Health’ by Kate Sheppard for HuffPost; “Surgeon General’s Warning: We Must Act on Climate” by Common Dreams for EcoWatch; and “Why Two Ex-Surgeons General Support the ‘Juliana 21’ Climate Lawsuit” by Richard Carmona and David Satcher for the New York Times.
The climate hashtags used in this section were top performers on Best-Hashtags.com.
Chapter 11
Information about Trump’s early reaction to the Camp Fire and reaction from Gavin Newsom comes from several sources: the article “Trump Says Camp Fire Is ‘Total Devastation,’ but Hasn’t Made Him Rethink Climate Change” by Alayna Shulman and Dianna M. Náñez for the Redding Record Searchlight; Jeremy B. White’s article “After Trading Barbs All Year, Newsom and Trump Meet at California Fire Zone” for Politico; the New York Times article “Trump’s Misleading Claims About California’s Fire ‘Mismanagement’” by Kendra Pierre-Louis; and “Trump Says California Can Learn from Finland on Fires. Is He Right?” by Patrick Kingsley for the New York Times.
The Fourth National Climate Assessment is available online on the National Climate Assessment website.
Observations of Paradise, California, following the Camp Fire are the author’s own, as are observations of the federal press conference in Paradise on November 26, 2018. All individuals quoted in this chapter were interviewed by the author in person in and around Paradise and Chico, California, between November 23 and November 30. Reporting on the number of damaged structures, people missing, and acreage of the burn is also original reporting by the author for Reuters. Additional context about the cause and forensics of the Camp Fire was provided by the New York Times article “‘We Have Fire Everywhere’” by Jon Mooallem.
The quote from Sheryl Corrigan comes from the Grist article “Breaking: The Climate Is Changing Because a Koch Brother Said So” by Melissa Cronin.
As of April 6, 2020, twelve of fifteen ethics investigations of Ryan Zinke by the US Department of the Interior are still pending. Of the three that have been concluded, two complaints were substantiated: claims that Zinke allowed his wife to travel in government vehicles and that Zinke reassigned government officials without clear criteria.
Chapter 12
Quotes and statements attributed to Miko Vergun come from an interview with Miko at the Tualatin Hills Nature Park on January 12, 2019. Additional information about the Marshall Islands’ climate crisis comes from the New York Times interactive project “The Marshall Islands Are Disappearing” by Coral Davenport and Josh Haner, and from the Los Angeles Times report “Marshall Islands, Low-Lying US Ally and Nuclear Testing Site, Declares a Climate Crisis” by Susanne Rust. The National Geographic article “Rising Seas Give Island Nation a Stark Choice: Relocate or Elevate” by Jon Letman provided additional crisis descriptions and solutions proposed by the Marshallese. Population information about the Marshall Islands is from the Marshall Islands article on the World Bank Data website. Information about the symposium on climate displacement for Hawaiians derives from an announcement of the same on the University of Hawaii website and from a Sea Grant Alaska web page for the event itself.
Reportage on Americans displaced by storms and by the Woolsey fire derives from the work of Carlos Martin at the Urban Institute, specifically his blog post “Who Are America’s ‘Climate Migrants,’ and Where Will They Go?” on the Urban Institute’s website. The number of people displaced by the Camp Fire comes from the Washington Post article “Forced from Paradise” by Frances Stead Sellers. Additional details about impending sea level rise come from the paper “Going Under: Long Wait Times for Post-Flood Buyouts Leave Homeowners Underwater” by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the report “Millions Projected to Be at Risk from Sea-Level Rise in the Continental United States” by Matt Hauer, Jason M. Evans, and Deepak Mishra, from which the quote comparing climate migration to the Great Migration is taken. Information about climate migration patterns comes from the Center for American Progress website, specifically the article “Climate Change Is Altering Migration Patterns Regionally and Globally” by Jayla Lundstrom.
Quotes and statements attributed to Jaime Butler come from a phone interview on December 5, 2019. Much of the description of “sheep camp” is Jaime’s, but the author used additional resources, including a description of hogáns from the Smithsonian ebook Navajo Houses by Cosmos Mindeleff and detail about the Navajo-Churro breed of sheep, diet, and cultural significance from the Navajo Lifeway website, specifically the article “A Short History on Navajo-Churro Sheep.” The description of shepherd life is also aided by the PRI article “Navajo Women Struggle to Preserve Traditions as Climate Change Intensifies” by Sonia Narang, and the accompanying short documentary. Additional information about Navajo weaving derives from the Britannica.com entry on the same.
Information about climate impacts on the Navajo Nation comes from the USGS report “Increasing Vulnerability of the Navajo People to Drought and Climate Change in the Southwestern United States: Accounts from Tribal Elders” by Margaret Redsteer, Klara Kelley, Harris Francis, and Debra Block. An accompanying video, “A Record of Change: Science and Elder Observations on the Navajo Nation,” posted to YouTube by the USGS, was also used. For information about wildlife threatened by climate change on the Navajo Nation, the author referred to the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife report “Climate-Change Vulnerability Assessment for Priority Wildlife Species” by the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment.
Reportage on the Navajo Nation’s climate adaptation strategy relies on the document “Climate Adaptation Plan for the Navajo Nation” from the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife by Gloria Tom, Carolynn Begay, and Raylene Yazzie; the report “Consideration for Climate Change and Variability Adaptation on the Navajo Nation” by Julie Nania and Karen Cozzetto; and from a phone interview with Janelle Josea, wildlife technician for the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife, on January 9, 2020.
Information about the Navajo Nation’s relationship to energy comes from the articles “Coal’s Days in Navajo Country Are Numbered” by Benjamin Storrow for E&E News,“Long-running Coal Plant on Navajo Nation Nears Its End” by Felicia Fonseca for the Associated Press, and the report “Navajo Nation Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy” prepared by Fourth World Design Group for the Navajo Nation Division of Economic Development. Data on the youth population of the Navajo Nation comes from Navajo Nation Community Profile on the University of Arizona website through its RII Native Peoples Technical Assistance Office.
Additional information about drought conditions comes from the Navajo Times article “Drought Takes Heavy Toll on Roaming Horses” by Larissa L. Jimmy, from the Associated Press article “Dozens of Wild Horses Found Dead amid Southwest Drought” by Felicia Fonseca, and from the Associated Press staff article “Over 100 Horses Apparent Victims of Drought on the Navajo Nation near Cameron, Ariz” on azcentral.com. Details about support for thirsty horses come from the Arizona Daily Sun article “In the Midst of Drought, Volunteers Bring Food and Water to Gray Mountain Wild Horses” by Emery Cowan and the Gray Mountain Horse Heroes Facebook page.
Background on the Garifuna people comes from the short documentary On Our Land: Being Garífuna in Honduras, produced by Remezcla. Details of coral bleaching come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website in the article “What Is Coral Bleaching?” and from the expert report of Ove Hoegh-Guldberg in the Juliana case. Additional details of Garifuna culture come from the Global Sherpa website.
The host committees of Vic Barrett’s testimony to congressional leaders were identified in a press release from the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, available on its website. Vic’s testimony to the committee can be found on C-SPAN under the article headline “House Hearing on Climate Change.” His op-ed in The Guardian is titled “Yes, I’m Striking Over the Climate Crisis. And Suing the US Government, Too.”
Chapter 13
Observations of the Twilight Cafe and surrounding neighborhood are the author’s. Lyrics for Geophagia’s “No Hope” are available on the band’s Bandcamp page on the antifascist gardening collective EP. Permission to reprint those lyrics was provided by Kiran Oommen, who wrote them. Statements attributed to Kiran Oommen in this section are from an unrecorded conversation in the Twilight Cafe on December 17, 2018, and from a subsequent interview in Vancouver, Washington, on November 4, 2019. Kiran’s meeting with the ecumenical patriarch was verified by a photo on the Our Children’s Trust Facebook page.
The comment attributed to Julia Olson was part of her speech at the rally at the Wayne L. Morse federal courthouse in Eugene on October 29, 2018.
Details of the Ninth Circuit court’s decision to grant an interlocutory appeal in the Juliana case come from the court record.
Quotes and statements attributed to Aji Piper come from an interview with Aji in Lincoln Park in Seattle on October 21, 2018. Information about Aji’s state case in Washington comes from the Our Children’s Trust website and the supporting documents found there.
Reportage on the RAN Toronto 2009 Nixon campaign come from the RAN Toronto website and from the personal account of organizer Joshua Kahn Russell, available on his Wordpress blog by the same name.
Chapter 14
National news shows and articles featuring the Juliana twenty-one in early 2019 were the 60 Minutes program “The Climate Change Lawsuit That Could Stop the US Government from Supporting Fossil Fuels,” available on the CBS News website; the Vogue article “Do Americans Have a Constitutional Right to a Livable Planet? Meet the 21 Young People Who Say They Do” by Julia Felsenthal; and the People article “Kids Suing the US Government to Take Action Against Climate Change: It’s a ‘911’ Situation” by KC Baker.
Greta Thunberg’s rise was observed in real time, but the author referred to the Time article “2019 Person of the Year—Greta Thunberg” by Charlotte Alter, Suyin Haynes, and Justin Worland to confirm the timeline of her activities. Thunberg’s speech at the UN’s climate conference in Katowice, Poland, is available on YouTube in the video “Greta Thunberg Full Speech at UN Climate Change COP24 Conference” posted by Connect4Climate.
Reportage on Greta’s influence on European activists derives from the BuzzFeed article “A Huge Climate Change Movement Led by Teenage Girls Is Sweeping Europe. And It’s Coming to the US Next” by J. Lester Feder, Zahra Hirji, and Pascale Müller. The author’s characterization of Greta’s influence worldwide comes from her own reporting, from the New York Times article “How a 7th-Grader’s Strike Against Climate Change Exploded into a Movement” by Sarah Kaplan, and also from the Time article cited earlier.
Information about the formation of US Youth Climate Strike derives from the author’s own reporting for Reuters, including in-person interviews with Haven Coleman and Isra Hirsi, cofounders of US Youth Climate Strike, on March 15, 2019, and a phone interview with Haven Coleman on March 10, 2019.
Reporting on the Zero Hour signature-gathering campaign for Juliana v. United States comes from a phone interview with Jamie Margolin on March 1, 2019, and from an interview with Meg Ward, former communications and youth engagement director of Our Children’s Trust, on January 15, 2020. Additional detail about the content of the friend-of-the-court brief comes from the brief itself, available in the court record.
Observations from the Capitol lawn during the US Youth Climate Strike march are the author’s.
Quotes and statements attributed to Alex Loznak come from an interview in New York on March 22, 2019. Alex’s interview of Jay Inslee for MTV News is available on MTV’s website under the article header “On Record with Presidential Hopeful Gov. Jay Inslee.” The New Yorker article involving Alex is “Jay Inslee, Candidate and Eco-Dude” by Andrew Marantz. Coverage of Alex by the Yale Politic can be found in the article “People Before Partisanship: How Young Millennials Are Taking Charge on Climate Change” by Sherrie Wang.
Details of the film Goldfinger come from the film.
Aji Piper’s testimony to the US House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis took place on April 4, 2019, and is available on the committee’s website under the headline “Generation Climate: Young Leaders Urge Climate Action Now.” Mentions of the congressional selfies and videos derive from real-time reporting of social media events by the author.
Details of the June 4, 2019, hearing before the Ninth Circuit court on the Juliana case derive from the author’s reportage on the hearing for The Guardian. The hearing remains available on YouTube in the video “18-36082 Kelsey Rose Juliana v. USA” posted by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Observations from the Director Park plaza are the author’s.
Chapter 15
Quotes and statements attributed to Nathan Baring derive from interviews with Nathan, beginning by phone on August 26, 2018, continuing in person in his Alaska community on October 11, 2019, and at the federal courthouse in Eugene on October 29, 2018, and again by phone on January 3, 2020.
The description of a thermokarst comes from the entry by the same name on the Encyclopedia Britannica website. Additional context for the Creamer’s Field thermokarst was provided by a phone interview with Matthew Strum, a geophysicist at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, on August 11, 2019.
Background information about Governor Mike Dunleavy comes from the following articles: “How the Kochs’ Americans for Prosperity Hijacked Alaska’s Tax and Budget Hearings” by Don Wiener for the Center for Media and Democracy’s PRWatch; “Mike Dunleavy and the Billionaire Koch Brothers Fiddle While Alaska Burns” by Bob Shavelson for the Waterkeeper Alliance; “Dunleavy Quietly Nixes Alaska Climate Change Strategy” by Jes Stugelmayer for KTVA; “Alaska’s Trumpian Governor Just Threatened the Health of the Entire State” by Sam Davenport for Vice; “Governor’s Roadshow Visit Paid by AFP, Koch Brothers” by Diana Haecker for the Nome Nugget; “Dunleavy Budget Road Show Sponsored by Koch Brothers Group Requires Secrecy Pledge” by Dermot Cole for his self-named reporting project; and “Koch Criminal Justice Reform Trojan Horse: Special Report on Reentry and Following the Money” by Ralph Wilson for the Center for Media and Democracy’s PRWatch. The quote from Sheryl Corrigan comes from the Grist article “Breaking: The Climate Is Changing Because a Koch Brother Said So” by Melissa Cronin.
Information about budget cuts to the University of Alaska and its Geothermal Institute comes from a phone interview with the institute’s director, Robert McCoy, on August 16, 2019. McCoy also provided general information about the institute. Additional details about the institute come from its website.
Description of the Fairbanks and Ester communities derives from the author’s reporting there. Kendall Kramer’s state record and detail of her U18 ski season come from the article “The Amazing Alaskan Runner Who Doubles in Nordic Skiing” by Cory Mull for MileSplitUSA and from the US Ski and Snowboard website in the article headlined “Kramer, Schumacher Sweep 2019 US Junior Nationals.” Facts about Tia Hatton come from an interview with Tia in Eugene on September 25, 2018.
Information about climate change and ice comes from the article “Why Are Glaciers and Sea Ice Melting?” on the WWF website. Facts about methane come from the National Geographic article “Methane Explained.” General information about worsening climate conditions in Alaska comes from the following interviews with University of Alaska scientists: Martin Stuefer, atmospheric scientist, by phone on August 28, 2019; Regine Hock, glaciologist, in her office on August 9, 2019; Netti Labelle-Hamer, atmospheric and space sciences, by phone on September 3, 2019.
Information about the oil and gas industry’s impacts on the Alaskan economy comes from the report “The Role of the Oil and Gas Industry in Alaska’s Economy,” prepared for the Alaska Oil and Gas Association by the McDowell Group.
Additional information about Alaskan culture and the history of its oil comes from the Explore Fairbanks Visitor Centers exhibits and from the author’s original reporting. Facts about the Pleistocene epoch come from the Museum of the North exhibits at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.
Chapter 16
Information about Greta Thunberg’s travels to the United States comes from the Geographical article “Thunberg and Juliana Plaintiffs Strike Back Against US Climate Denial Machine” by Matt Maynard, as does information about testimony to the US House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Greta’s testimony to the committee, as well as the testimonies of Jamie Margolin and Vic Barrett, can be found on C-SPAN under the article headline “House Hearing on Climate Change.”
Avery McRae’s description of her time on Capitol Hill, including her account of activities in the overflow space during the Select Committee hearing, comes from an interview with her at her home on October 15, 2019. Characterizations of Greta’s celebrity come from Avery’s observations in this interview and those of Levi Draheim in a phone interview on October 18, 2019. They also stem from the author’s own observation of press activities around Greta’s visit to the United States.
Comments made by Kelsey Juliana and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez on the steps of the US Supreme Court were broadcast via Facebook Live and are available on the Our Children’s Trust Facebook page.
Information about the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project comes from the Trans Mountain Pipeline website; a phone interview with Heather Stebbings, spokesperson for the Port of Vancouver, on November 4, 2019; and the National Post article “Liberal Government Approves $9.3B Trans Mountain Expansion Project, but Critics Say It’s Too Little Too Late” by Jesse Snyder. Details of the Patagonia bulk carrier are from the ship’s listing on MarineTraffic.com. All other observations of the November 4, 2019, protest action at the Port of Vancouver, Washington, are the author’s own. Quotes and statements attributed to Kiran Oommen come from an interview in Vancouver, Washington, on November 5, 2019, and a follow-up phone interview on November 6, 2019.
Lydia Stolt’s quotes comes from an unrecorded interview in Vancouver, Washington, on November 5, 2019.
Epilogue
The Ninth Circuit Court’s decision comes from the court record. Quotations from the judges come from the ruling.