A battle for net neutrality is lost, another mass shooting occurs, and on a more constant yet somehow less alarming basis, our home is melting, on fire, being battered by unprecedented storms, getting flooded, or experiencing drought. After taking one look at the headlines coming out of the US recently, it would be surprising if you didn’t feel at least a little bit helpless.

One group of 21 young people is tackling their anxieties regarding global warming in a somewhat unprecedented way that is helping to define our republican government: they are suing the federal government despite multiple attempts to halt their case, most recently from the Trump administration, according to Brady Dennis of The Washington Post.

The lawsuit is grounded on the idea that the U.S. government has violated the public-trust doctrine, defined by Wex Legal Dictionary as “The principle that certain natural and cultural resources are preserved for public use, and that the government owns and must protect and maintain these resources for the public’s use.” This doctrine has been used repeatedly for the federal government to protect things such as bodies of water and shorelines, but never before to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lessen government support of fossil fuels, as the plaintiffs of this lawsuit hope.

They argue that the government has been aware of the causes and risks of climate change for some time, and has done nothing to stop it, which will infringe upon the “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness,” of later generations of Americans.

The trial is set to begin in U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in February of this 2018, but it was certainly not easy for this group of teenagers to be heard, nor was it their first or last step in their fight to protect the environment. Represented by Julia Olsen, the group of plaintiffs filed their first lawsuit in May of 2011, according to The New Yorker. The case was eventually dismissed, but that did not stop the group of activists from pursuing legal action against 50 states, and now the federal government as well.

The Trump Administration sent an administrator to block the lawsuit filed against them, calling the case “meritless” and saying that it would cause a “constitutional confrontation between the government branches,” according to The Washington Post, however their requests were denied.

“If we set precedent on this kind of case, there is no logical boundary to it,” Chief Judge Sidney Thomas told the Trump administration attorney.

This court case may be unprecedented, but that does not mean it is unconstitutional. After all, the first amendment does guarantee the right “to petition the government for a redress of grievances,” which is exactly what the plaintiffs are doing.

Although it is easy to feel helpless during times of turmoil, this group of teenagers has shown that it is possible to take initiative, and hopefully during the coming months, they will prove that the fight to preserve our environment is a winning one.