Judge: Seattle kids can move ahead with climate rights case

SEATTLE (AP) - A judge says eight Seattle children should have "their day in court" to argue that Washington state and others are violating their constitutional rights to a healthy environment by failing to protect them from climate change.

King County Superior Court Judge Hollis Hill on Monday wrote that there's a need for coordinated science-based action by the state to "address climate change before efforts to do so are too costly and too late."

The petitioners, between 12 and 16 years old, had asked the judge to find the Department of Ecology in contempt for failing to protect them and future generations from global warming. The judge said Ecology complied with her orders within her timeline and so denied the kids' request.

But in an unusual move, the judge allowed the youth to amend their petition and move forward with their constitutional rights claims against the state.