The longer Sahara Valentine fights the climate crisis, the bigger that fight becomes.
The struggle for a more livable future has become more urgent since she joined the cause at 10 years old. For her, it has become a fight for the future of the world s most vulnerable people. A sense only her generation is willing to fight has become more real. Climate change is really the biggest threat facing the youth right now, Valentine said.
Valentine, 16, is one of the youngest plaintiffs in
Juliana v. United States, a 2015 lawsuit
brought by 21 young people,
six of whom are from Eugene, which alleged the federal government infringed on their rights to a healthy future by allowing the use of fossil fuels.
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Activists in the Pacific Northwest have warned for years that communities of color and other marginalized groups are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change, and less well-positioned to take advantage of jobs and other benefits likely to result as the region s economy moves away from fossil fuels.
For evidence, look no further than the fire that ripped through Southern Oregon last September. People in the relatively affluent town of Ashland received faster and clearer warnings to evacuate than people in less-well-off neighboring towns Talent and Phoenix, say grassroots-organizing groups in the area.
It was only in Ashland, a wealthier area five miles down Interstate 5 from Talent, that residents were told to evacuate, activists said after the fire. Jackson County’s emergency alert system left out many communities, they said, including Talent, a community with mobile home parks and other low-income housing and a median household income of $40,400. Ashla
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