Washington, Oregon and British Columbia all pledged to slash greenhouse gas emissions, and all fell short. Why? by Twenty-year-old Aji Piper was 15 when he became a plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit in which youths are suing the U.S. government on the grounds that it is continuing to allow climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions. He is pictured here wearing a mask to protect himself during one of Washington's climate-driven smoke emergencies. (Alex Garland) With dozens of people killed by wildfires in the western U.S., millions of acres scorched and choking smoke spreading far into British Columbia, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee lit up the news wires in September. "These are not just wildfires,” Inslee asserted at a press conference from Olympia, “these are