"The Mother Behind Kids' Long-Shot Legal Crusade"

"The then-thirtysomething environmental lawyer watched Al Gore's climate change documentary while eight months pregnant with her second child. By her own admission, she 'cried through the whole film' and spent several sleepless nights plotting a way to increase public awareness of climate change."

"Her initial idea was to plan public marches on Washington, D.C., but she ending up launching a national legal campaign aimed at forcing government action on climate change.

Enlisting children as plaintiffs, she advanced the novel legal theory that the atmosphere is a 'public trust' under common law and that the states and federal government have a duty to preserve it."

Lawrence Hurley reports for Greenwire December 19, 2012.