The Elephant In The Room Of #ClimateEmergency: Pentagon Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Source: "PentagonFuel Use, Climate Change, and the Costs of War" Neta C. Crawford, Boston University, June 12. 2019

I've been fortunate to meet some of the younger climate activists in Maine recently, those organizing Climate Strikes and also support for the landmark Juliana v. US climate justice legal challenge.

What is striking to me is that young and old alike have been kept effectively ignorant of the central fact that is the elephant in the room of climate emergency: Pentagon greenhouse gas emissions.

As we can see from the chart above, the Pentagon consumes the lion's share of U.S. fuel. That is not even counting its many contractors, such as General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works ship yard here in Maine. More on that in a minute.

Fuel use likewise makes the Pentagon the biggest greenhouse gas emitter of any organization on the planet. Indeed, its CO2 boot print is larger than that of many nations. 

Forbes used Professor Neta Crawford's research to produce a graphic illustration of this alarming fact:

Why have we been so ignorant of this central fact in understanding climate emergency? 

Because, as the report notes, "emissions from international bunker fuels (for military aircraft and ships) and multilateral wars were excluded from national accounts in the Kyoto Protocol negotiations in 1998."

Thus we have the ironic and quite possibly suicidal situation where, in Professor Crawford's words:

"The Pentagon views climate change as a threat...to national security...Yet the Pentagon does not acknowledge that its own fuel use is a major contributor to climate change."

One is science, the other is politics. Our planet's atmosphere, climate, and ability to sustain mammalian life can be understood via science; Bill Nye, science guy, is now predicting the dire effects of climate change for human life will begin as early as 10-15 years from now if we continue down the same path. More conservative scientists are saying 50 years.

Politicians, on the other hand, continue kissing the ring of fossil fuel giants and weapons manufacturers; the latter are so wealthy they are sometimes referred to as the 1% of the 1%. They vote to fund wars for control of the fossil fuels that are killing us, and this is true whether they have D, R or I after their names.

Dud Hendrick of Veterans for Peace called out Maine's congressional delegation for their failure of leadership to address the climate crisis in his piece this week in Common Dreams, "A Call to Put Down Arms."

Hendrick will join me and others for a news conference on June 21 in Portland calling for conversion of the largest weapons factory in Maine, the Bath Iron Works shipyard. We have a great coalition of Native, environmental, peace and faith leaders joining the Conversion Campaign -- yet not a single elected official at the municipal, state or national level had yet found the courage to accept our invitation to join us on June 21.

The following day, dozens will protest at Bath Iron Works as yet another carbon-belching war ship is celebrated.

Be there if you can on Saturday, June 22 at 8-10am in Bath to demand demand conversion of the ship yard to address climate emergency. Let's turn this ship around, before it's too late.

Turning The Military Against The Regime

When George W. Bush received the Liberty Medal in Philadelphia on Armistice Day, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans shouted “SHAME!” during his speech. Source: AboutFaceVeterans.org  Photograph by Ryan Harvey

While preparing my Armistice Day post I stumbled across some encouraging news of military personnel who aren't buying the so-called war on terror. Following dissenter Brittany DeBarros on Twitter -- a little late, since her 14 day campaign to share some truth about U.S. military deployments was last summer -- led me to this evidence of the war criminal Bush being held accountable:

Happening now: Iraq & Afghanistan #veterans have blocked entrances to the National Constitution Center in #Philadelphia where @JoeBiden is awarding the "Liberty Medal" to @GeorgeWBush. Dozens of veterans of his wars are outside refusing to leave. #veteransday #vereransday2018 pic.twitter.com/Vodh6r8xbC

— Ryan Harvey (@ryanharveysongs) November 12, 2018

DeBarros articulates the rage of veterans who mourn the dead and maimed while the wealthy sweep past them in fur coats on their way into $1,000 a plate dinners like the one held for Bush.

That’s VETS saying it’s past time to sound the alarm that we continue to bomb 7 countries & lay the blame for millions of dead Iraqi & Afghan ppl, for thousands of killed/wounded Americans at the feet of corporations & politicians who warmonger for profit #DropTheMIC #MoMoreWar

— Brittany DeBarros (@BrittDeBarros) November 12, 2018

I was reminded of veteran-led dissent while attending a training for future action at General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard. Our two fine nonviolent action trainers Jessica and David challenged us to think about the various audiences for action at BIW. This helped me realized my audience is school age children, who hold the keys to our collective future. This will inform my planning for messaging at the next warship christening[sic]. For example, using images of the animals harmed by the U.S. Navy could be a good tactic:

Bruce said that his target audience is the crew of the warship, who used to march down the sidewalk in dress uniforms before entering the gate where our actions take place. (Now they are hustled through a back entrance where they can't see us.) That's Bruce's preferred audience because he was once a conservative young man who enlisted in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. Seeing protests outside the base where he was stationed led to debates inside that changed his mind and heart about war forever.

The working class youth who sign up for the military have far more in common with the working class youth who don't than with the titans of industry like General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic who makes millions every year on the backs of U.S. taxpayers.

Some of the workers realize this.

Historically, the ruling class has feared that the working class military would turn against their regimes.

The so-called Sepoy Mutiny saw Indian soldiers turn against their British masters. It is seen as the first battle in the Indian war for independence that ended successfully following widespread nonviolent actions led by Gandhi.

They should fear this, because once consent is withdrawn it is difficult to regain. I believe that's why U.S. wars are increasingly fought by robots.

What a hell of a way to die is a self-described socialist podcast series by two reservists who can make sad and infuriating things sound funny. In a Paste magazine review of the series, podcaster Francis Horton explained why he joined the military:

It’s a job better than anything you can get at the age of 18. 

There are good benefits for you and your family. For 18 years I’ve been doing this but I also hit a point where I believe that this is gross. But then you get a $10k signing bonus. My patriotism was third on the list of priorities when I first joined. It’s the post office with guns.

Once they've taken the bait, many veterans wind up injured, broke, even homeless. They're right back in the same lousy job pool they escaped by enlisting.

Speaking of jobs, many folks in the nonviolent action training talked about the audience mostly present at warship events: the shipyard workers and their families. In the context of a poor state like Maine, these are lucrative jobs unavailable elsewhere. 

But building weapons of mass destruction is a demonstrably bad jobs program.

Research by economist Heidi Garret-Pelletier at Brown University continues to find that investment in sectors that build sustainable solutions to climate change would produce millions more jobs. Education is another sector where investments produce far more jobs. Many at the next BIW action will call on the shipyard to convert to building for life rather than for death.

This history major cherishes the hope that working class people turn away from the racist wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria that have killed half a million people since 2001. Of those who died, 6,951 were U.S. military personnel. 

Honor the war dead: demand the truth.