[ We cant keep ignoring its enormous "bootprint."]
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THE PENTAGON IS THE ELEPHANT IN THE CLIMATE ACTIVIST ROOM  
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Melissa Garriga and Tim Biondo
September 12, 2023
Nation of Change
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_ We can't keep ignoring its enormous "bootprint." _

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With nearly 10,000 people expected to take to the streets of New York
City on September 17 for the March to End Fossil Fuels, the climate
justice movement seems more organized than ever. But, there’s a big
elephant in the room, and it has the Pentagon written all over it. 

The U.S. military is the world’s largest institutional oil consumer.
It causes more greenhouse gas emissions than 140 nations combined and
accounts for about one-third of America’s total fossil fuel
consumption. The Department of Defense (DoD) also uses huge amounts of
natural gas and coal, as well as nuclear power plants at its bases
around the country. How can we demand the U.S. be part of a movement
that aims to end the use of fossil fuels and protect our planet when
their own institution is wreaking havoc without accountability? The
answer: you can’t.

As long as we ignore the Pentagon’s role in perpetuating climate
change, our fight to protect the planet is incomplete. We also risk
undermining our own effectiveness by not taking into account how the
nearly trillion dollar military budget takes away from people’s
access to resources that not only affect their capacity to fight for
climate justice but also to live under extreme economic inequality. 

While United States officials want the consumer public to be
responsible for their personal carbon footprint, such as making
motorists switch to electric vehicles or banning incandescent light
bulbs they are avoiding responsibility for the large carbon
“bootprint” the military is leaving across the globe. From burn
pits in Iraq, or the use of depleted uranium and cluster munitions in
Ukraine, to the ever-expanding list of domestic and oversea military
bases – the United States military is not only destroying its own
country but devastating indigenous communities and sovereign nations
through extreme environmental degradation.

According to the Environmental Working Group
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“more than 700 military installations
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are likely contaminated with the “forever chemicals
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known as PFAS.” But the problem goes far beyond drinking water. In
Japan, the indigenous Ryukyuan
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is pushing back against yet another military base being built on the
island of Okinawa. The new base is a major threat to the fragile
ecosystem the Ryukyuans work hard to maintain. The damage to their
marine ecosystem of course coincides with the poisoning of their
drinking water – a fight both Hawaii and Guam are all too familiar
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All of these contributing factors of climate destruction are happening
in “conflict free” zones,but what impact does the U.S. military
have on active warzones? Well, take a look at the Russian/Ukraine war
– a war that the U.S. is helping to sustain to the tune of over a
hundred billion dollars. CNN recently reported
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“a total of 120 million metric tons of planet-heating pollution can
be attributed to the first 12 months of the war.” They explained how
those measures are “equivalent to the annual emissions of Belgium,
or those produced by nearly 27 million gas-powered cars
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on the road for a year.” The damage doesn’t end there. The war in
Ukraine has compromised pipelines and methane leaks; attributed to
dead dolphins and marine harm; caused deforestation, farmland
destruction, and water contamination; as well as the increase in
production of dirty energy like coal. It also carries the imminent
threat of radiation leaks and nuclear catastrophe.
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continuation of this war is the continuation of ecocide. We must do
what we can to end it now and without further death and destruction. 

The United States is not only fueling the current climate crisis but
it is also funding it at our expense and peril. The Pentagon uses up
64% of our government’s discretionary spending (which includes
things like education and healthcare). We are spending our money that
could fund social programs into the continuation of climate
disaster. 

Ordinary Americans, especially Black, Brown and poor communities, are
forced to pay for endless war and environmental degradation through
higher taxes, fees and utility bills. Climate change is a threat to
national security, with the potential to affect global stability and
the ability of governments to provide essential services. Who
remembers Vice President Kamala Harris ominous quote, “For years
there were wars fought over oil; in a short time there will be wars
fought over water.”

The Pentagon’s core mission is to prepare for potential attacks by
human adversaries, but none of the United States’ “adversaries”
– Russia, Iran, China and North Korea – are certain to attack the
United States. Nor is a large standing military the only way to reduce
the threats these alleged adversaries pose who all have much smaller
militaries in comparison. “As the government tries to scare
Americans over these hypothetical “threats,” they refuse to
address the real danger communities across the world face every day
due to climate change.” 

The climate crisis is here now with real consequences. In the United
States, climate change is already contributing to drought and
wildfires in California, Hawaii, and Louisiana. Sea level rise
threatens coastal communities and rising temperatures are likely to
increase civil unrest and contribute to more job-related deaths. 

We have to act now by pushing peace and cooperation around the globe.
We must divert spending away from military base occupation and war and
into climate crisis aversion. Or else. 

We need a climate justice platform that calls for an end to wars
abroad and at home. We need to permanently end the war on terror,
which has cost trillions of dollars, killed millions of people and
created an endless cycle of violence and instability around the world.

We need to stop spending billions on weapons systems designed to fight
imaginary enemies . Instead we should use that money for domestic
priorities like health care, education and infrastructure projects
here at home.

We need to work side by side with all nations to address climate
issues. This includes those we have deemed as enemies as well as the
Global South – who are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. 

We need to make sure that our tax dollars are being spent on the
things that matter most to us–and that means an end to endless war
and environmental degradation. We need a Green New Deal which
redirects federal funds from military spending towards domestic
priorities like health care, education and infrastructure projects.

When it comes to the fight for climate justice, the Pentagon is the
elephant in the room. We can’t keep ignoring its enormous
“bootprint.” It’s simple – to defend earth we must end war and
we must end it now. Peace is no longer something that should be looked
at as an utopian idea – it is a necessity. Our survival depends on
it. 

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* US Military Budget; Climate Crisis; Pollution;
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