10-Year-Old Sues US Government Over Climate Policy
Ten-year-old Levi Draheim is a whizz at math, even though he doesn’t particularly like it. He plays the violin and he has a pet crab, JJ. Like most kids, Draheim hates cleaning his room.
But Draheim isn’t like most 10-year-olds in one major way — he’s suing the United States federal government for violating his constitutional rights by supporting the continued use of fossil fuels that contribute to global warming.
Draheim lives on a barrier island on the state of Florida’s central east coast. Sea level rise projections combined with beach erosion escalation means his home will likely be sitting in water in 30-40 years. It’s a reality even most adults in Florida's threatened cities aren’t doing much about, which makes this child’s activism even more unusual.
The changing climate is something Draheim has witnessed first hand. When Hurricane Irma ripped through Florida in September 2017, it hit his town of Satellite Beach pretty hard. A week after the hurricane, came a torrential downpour that flooded many streets. Draheim and his family had to evacuate and his street flooded.
Before the flood, Draheim went to school three days a week and was homeschooled the other two. However, the school was damaged beyond repair, so his mom has to homeschool him full time for now.
There’s no denying he’s living the impacts of sea level rise and extreme weather. In many ways, he was a natural to join the 20 other kids from around the country suing the federal government over not doing enough to stop climate change. Of the group, he’s the youngest.
“I think climate change is basically like a national disaster, and it’s going to affect everybody,” Draheim said.
The trial began on February 5, 2018. Draheim said whether they win or lose, he for one hopes that US President Donald Trump is watching.
“It’s kind of hard that the most powerful person in the world denies that climate change is ever a problem and ever will be a problem,” Draheim said.
