Just before the holiday weekend on Thursday, Circuit Judge Jeffrey Crabtree denied the state’s request to dismiss an environmental lawsuit by 14 Hawaii youths who have argued that transportation officials are falling short on their duties to curb emissions.

Crabtree previously had ruled to advance another case that alleges oil companies have not been forthcoming about climate-change effects of fossil fuels. This current case by the youths still must be argued on the merits — and it will be enlightening to hear those arguments in court.