MISSOULA — Following the second day of a two-day hearing before a federal judge, 19-year-old Eva Lighthiser said she felt optimistic about a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s climate and energy policies, a court case that bears her name.

“It’s really affirming to have our voices heard in court,” Lighthiser told Montana Free Press in an interview Wednesday. “Obviously climate change is the largest crisis we face during this time. It is unprecedented what we’re going to be facing in the near future. And I think it’s absolutely essential that we take every possible action we can to mitigate the harms climate change is currently causing and will cause in the future.”

The Livingston resident is the lead plaintiff in the Lighthiser v. Trump case, which challenges three executive or

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