1/ A Montana judge ruled that the state’s oil and gas policies failed to consider climate change when approving energy projects, violating young people’s constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment.” District Court Judge Kathy Seeley found that a provision in the Montana Environmental Policy Act had harmed the state’s environment and the plaintiffs – a group of 16 kids, teens, and young adults. It was the first-of-its kind youth-led climate trial. In the ruling, Seeley wrote that “Montana’s emissions and climate change have been proven to be a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana’s environment and harm and injury” to the youth. Montana is one of three states that have the affirmative right to a safe environment in their constitutions. (Bloomberg / Associated Press / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)

Small changes in global average temperature are driving environmental and economic consequences. (Bloomberg)

The clean energy future is arriving faster than you think. “Wind and solar power are breaking records, and renewables are now expected to overtake coal by 2025 as the world’s largest source of electricity. Automakers have made electric vehicles central to their business strategies and are openly talking about an expiration date on the internal combustion engine. Heating, cooling, cooking and some manufacturing are going electric.” (New York Times)

2/ An Atlanta area grand jury started hearing evidence against Trump and others in the 2020 election subversion case. Multiple witnesses were spotted and testified before the grand jury today, including two former state lawmakers. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek more than a dozen indictments in the case. Meanwhile, a list of criminal charges against Trump briefly appeared on a Fulton County website, which included conspiracy, false statements, forgery and, racketeering. Prosecutors, however, said Trump had not been indicted (yet?) and the Fulton County Clerk called the document “fictitious.” The two-page docket was then removed from the Fulton County court’s website. In July 2022, Willis notified 16 Trump electors that they were targets of the investigation. At least eight of them reached immunity deals that allow them to avoid prosecution if they cooperated. Trump is the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, having been indicted in three separate cases, which total 78 charges: 44 federal charges and 34 state charges, all of them felonies, in three jurisdictions. (New York Times / CNN / Washington Post /