Iowa teen's plea for climate action rejected by appeals court

An appeals court is declining to order the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to do more to stop harmful greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere.

The Iowa Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected a petition filed by a Des Moines teenager asking the DNR to make rules to further reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, which contribute to global warming.

The DNR had rejected the petition in June 2011, saying it would wait for new federal standards on gas emissions before acting.

The appeals court declined to extend Iowa's public trust doctrine, which protects waters for public use, to include the atmosphere.

Attorney Channing Dutton represents Kids vs. Global Warming and 15-year-old activist Glori Dei Filippone, who brought the lawsuit. He says he'll ask the Iowa Supreme Court to take the case.