Israeli tanks are deployed on agricultural lands near the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza on October 29, 2023.
An Earth Day Present to the Planet From Congress: $95 Billion for War
The future of both climate and war is largely shaped by domestic and international spending, and military spending has traditionally been greater than any genuine climate investments.
It was Earth Day on Monday, and the U.S. and the world seem determined to ignore the climate crisis and instead invest in war. That’s a huge mistake.
This weekend, the House passed $95 billion in new war and related spending, which will now go to the Senate. Also on Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released new data showing that world military spending totaled $2.44 trillion in 2023, an increase of 6.8% from the previous year.
This April also marked 75 years since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created. NATO, at its core, is a military alliance. It conducted military exercises during the Cold War and played a pivotal role in the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
What if we had governments and communities that center care and responsibility instead of deterrence and aggression?
All that war has come at a steep price for our climate, even while fossil fuel dependence and militarism benefit from the same power structures. The climate emergency is driven by fossil fuel use that extracts from the land’s resources, including its people. Militarism utilizes war and weapons and puts up walls and borders in service of political power and economic growth.
Meanwhile, the future of both climate and war is largely shaped by domestic and international spending. And military spending has traditionally been greater than any genuine climate investments.
Here in the U.S., the military and its support systems take up the majority of federal discretionary spending. The National Priorities Project calculated that in 2023 the average U.S. taxpayer contributed more than $3,700 for the Pentagon and war, but only $11 for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The devastation extends beyond the direct destruction and horror of war. The U.S. military is the single largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. U.S. military bases hold toxic legacies in the land and waters and impact long-term public health, such as the “forever chemicals” PFAS contaminating water sources around bases.
On top of it all, if we look at who is affected by the climate crisis and militarism, they are poor communities that are Black and brown. In the U.S., Black, Hispanic and Latino, Indigenous, undocumented, and poor people bear the brunt of harm from climate impacts, including deaths and injuries from natural disasters. Militarism compromises these communities as they are also the ones who are disproportionately policed, incarcerated, detained, and deported.
This Earth Week, we need bold new solutions for the climate crisis and peace. What if we had an alliance that was for genuine climate solutions? An alliance that wasn’t modeled off of NATO, but one that is inclusive and guided by Indigenous and feminist resilience and solutions across movements? What if we had governments and communities that center care and responsibility instead of deterrence and aggression? What if we had a federal budget beyond the enforcement paradigm? This is a vision for our Earth worth celebrating.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
It was Earth Day on Monday, and the U.S. and the world seem determined to ignore the climate crisis and instead invest in war. That’s a huge mistake.
This weekend, the House passed $95 billion in new war and related spending, which will now go to the Senate. Also on Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released new data showing that world military spending totaled $2.44 trillion in 2023, an increase of 6.8% from the previous year.
This April also marked 75 years since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created. NATO, at its core, is a military alliance. It conducted military exercises during the Cold War and played a pivotal role in the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
What if we had governments and communities that center care and responsibility instead of deterrence and aggression?
All that war has come at a steep price for our climate, even while fossil fuel dependence and militarism benefit from the same power structures. The climate emergency is driven by fossil fuel use that extracts from the land’s resources, including its people. Militarism utilizes war and weapons and puts up walls and borders in service of political power and economic growth.
Meanwhile, the future of both climate and war is largely shaped by domestic and international spending. And military spending has traditionally been greater than any genuine climate investments.
Here in the U.S., the military and its support systems take up the majority of federal discretionary spending. The National Priorities Project calculated that in 2023 the average U.S. taxpayer contributed more than $3,700 for the Pentagon and war, but only $11 for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The devastation extends beyond the direct destruction and horror of war. The U.S. military is the single largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. U.S. military bases hold toxic legacies in the land and waters and impact long-term public health, such as the “forever chemicals” PFAS contaminating water sources around bases.
On top of it all, if we look at who is affected by the climate crisis and militarism, they are poor communities that are Black and brown. In the U.S., Black, Hispanic and Latino, Indigenous, undocumented, and poor people bear the brunt of harm from climate impacts, including deaths and injuries from natural disasters. Militarism compromises these communities as they are also the ones who are disproportionately policed, incarcerated, detained, and deported.
This Earth Week, we need bold new solutions for the climate crisis and peace. What if we had an alliance that was for genuine climate solutions? An alliance that wasn’t modeled off of NATO, but one that is inclusive and guided by Indigenous and feminist resilience and solutions across movements? What if we had governments and communities that center care and responsibility instead of deterrence and aggression? What if we had a federal budget beyond the enforcement paradigm? This is a vision for our Earth worth celebrating.
It was Earth Day on Monday, and the U.S. and the world seem determined to ignore the climate crisis and instead invest in war. That’s a huge mistake.
This weekend, the House passed $95 billion in new war and related spending, which will now go to the Senate. Also on Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released new data showing that world military spending totaled $2.44 trillion in 2023, an increase of 6.8% from the previous year.
This April also marked 75 years since the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created. NATO, at its core, is a military alliance. It conducted military exercises during the Cold War and played a pivotal role in the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
What if we had governments and communities that center care and responsibility instead of deterrence and aggression?
All that war has come at a steep price for our climate, even while fossil fuel dependence and militarism benefit from the same power structures. The climate emergency is driven by fossil fuel use that extracts from the land’s resources, including its people. Militarism utilizes war and weapons and puts up walls and borders in service of political power and economic growth.
Meanwhile, the future of both climate and war is largely shaped by domestic and international spending. And military spending has traditionally been greater than any genuine climate investments.
Here in the U.S., the military and its support systems take up the majority of federal discretionary spending. The National Priorities Project calculated that in 2023 the average U.S. taxpayer contributed more than $3,700 for the Pentagon and war, but only $11 for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The devastation extends beyond the direct destruction and horror of war. The U.S. military is the single largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. U.S. military bases hold toxic legacies in the land and waters and impact long-term public health, such as the “forever chemicals” PFAS contaminating water sources around bases.
On top of it all, if we look at who is affected by the climate crisis and militarism, they are poor communities that are Black and brown. In the U.S., Black, Hispanic and Latino, Indigenous, undocumented, and poor people bear the brunt of harm from climate impacts, including deaths and injuries from natural disasters. Militarism compromises these communities as they are also the ones who are disproportionately policed, incarcerated, detained, and deported.
This Earth Week, we need bold new solutions for the climate crisis and peace. What if we had an alliance that was for genuine climate solutions? An alliance that wasn’t modeled off of NATO, but one that is inclusive and guided by Indigenous and feminist resilience and solutions across movements? What if we had governments and communities that center care and responsibility instead of deterrence and aggression? What if we had a federal budget beyond the enforcement paradigm? This is a vision for our Earth worth celebrating.