14-year-old Lecompton girl sues Brownback administration over CO2 emissions
Topeka ? A 14-year-old northeast Kansas girl has sued Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration in hopes of forcing it to impose limits on carbon dioxide emissions.
Samantha Farb of Lecompton filed the lawsuit Thursday through her parents in Shawnee County District Court. It’s part of campaign launched last year by environmentalists to file such lawsuits in all 50 states.
The effort is led by a nonprofit Oregon group called Our Children’s Trust.
The Kansas girl’s lawsuit argues there’s a public trust for the state in protecting the atmosphere and fighting global warming from manmade greenhouse gases such as CO2.
Named as defendants are Brownback, the state Department of Health and Environment and the agency’s secretary. A KDHE spokeswoman said the agency has not seen the lawsuit.