Michigan State women’s basketball is currently in Florida for the West Palm Beach Classic, and the Spartans continued their best start in program history, beating Montana by over 30 points on Thursday to advance in the classic. The Spartans won 69 to 38.

Michigan State is now 11-0 on the season, but will face a big challenge tomorrow when face 10-1 Alabama.

Julia Ayrault led the way in this one with 15 points, while Ines Sotelo, Theryn Hallock, and Grace VanSlooten all scored in double-figures as well.

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The Montana Supreme Court voted 6 to 1, affirming a lower court ruling that said the state’s fossil fuel friendly policies, along with a lack of action to address climate change, has violated the young people’s constitutional right to a clean environment. The decision means that state agencies must now consider the greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts of any proposed development project.

Olivia Vesovich is one of the youth plaintiffs. She’s been involved with this case for the last 5 years.

“Hope is something we work towards, and that is what this case has been,” said Vesovich. “We have fought to have our voices heard. We have fought to have our case in the state and now that we got our voices heard by the Montana Supreme Court.”

Statements from the Governor and Attorney General’s spokespeople reiterated their arguments from the appeal that the young people lacked standing to bring this case and that climate change is beyond the scope of the courts.

Republican lawmakers called the decision an overstep from the court into the legislature’s role. Democratic leadership praised the decision. Environmental groups heralded the decision as a critical victory in the fight against climate change.

Montana is one of 6 states with environmental protections enshrined in its constitution.

Columbia University climate change law professor Michael Gerrard says although this ruling is specific to Montana, it sets an important precedent for other climate litigation.

“I think this kind of victory will embolden youth plaintiffs and others to bring similar cases in other parts of the country, and here the trial court, now referred by the state Supreme Court, upheld all the findings of the climate scientists. It’s going to be increasingly hard for anyone to challenge those scientific findings,” said Gerrard.

Given that the case is predicated on Montana’s Constitution, this ruling is the final decision. It cannot be appealed to a federal court.

Montana’s Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision that had sided with 16 young activists who argued that the state violated their right to a clean environment.

The lawsuit was brought by students arguing that a state law banning the consideration of climate when choosing energy policy was unconstitutional.

In a 6-to-1 ruling, the top court found that the plaintiffs, between ages five and 22, had a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment”.

Wednesday’s ruling came after a district court’s decision last year was appealed by the state. Similar climate lawsuits are ongoing across the US but this is first of its kind a from a state supreme court.

The lawsuit targeted a 2011 state law that made it illegal for environmental reviews to consider climate impacts when deciding on new projects, like building new power plants.

It cited a 50-year-old constitutional clause that guaranteed the “state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations”.

The ruling on Wednesday stated that the “plaintiffs showed at trial – without dispute – that climate change is harming Montana’s environmental life support system now and with increasing severity for the foreseeable future” .

Rikki Held, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said in a statement that “this ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change”.

Montana state officials expressed disappointment with the court’s decision.

Governor Greg Gianforte said his office was still assessing the ruling, but predicted the impact would be “perpetual lawsuits that will waste taxpayer dollars and drive up energy bills for hardworking Montanans”.

Western Environmental Law Center, which represented the young plaintiffs, said in a statement that the decision marks “a turning point in Montana’s energy policy”.

It said plaintiffs and their legal team “are committed to ensuring the full implementation of the ruling”.

Similar cases are scheduled to be heard in several other states, including Hawaii, Utah and Alaska, as well as in countries like Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Colombia and Uganda.