Blowing up unused weapons in the middle of the desert. Dumping gallons of jet fuel. Emptying trash into the sea. Producing more pollution than 150 countries combined.
These are the climate consequences of the United States military. Independent journalist Abby Martin reveals them all in her latest documentary, Earth's Greatest Enemy, co-directed with Mike Prysner, Martin's husband and an Iraq War veteran.
She joined host and Counterstream Co-Founder and President Shilpi Chhotray for the first episode of A People’s Climate Season 2.
They discuss how military power has shaped the climate crisis, from the toxic legacy of U.S. military bases contaminating service members to the destruction of land and water in Hawaiʻi. They also touch on how Martin managed to sneak her way into ridiculously large military conventions, where she pressed global leaders to answer for the military's role in driving climate change.
"How the hell are you getting into these industry and military events?” Chhotray asked. “A quick Google search would show you’re Abby Martin, the anti-imperialist.”
"There is a contradictory narrative throughout the film," Martin said. "On one hand, the military is this very secretive institution. But on the other hand, they’re dumb."
Grab your popcorn — because this episode is funny, infuriating, and a call to action all at once.
The Latest at Counterstream
New in The Guardian: Shilpi Chhotray reports on how a small Texas town stopped Trump’s border wall construction
Residents of San Ygnacio, a Mexican-American town of roughly 400 people, have been fighting to halt the construction of a portion of the U.S. border wall.
San Ygnacio relies on the Rio Grande for drinking water, but the wall is being built in its floodplain — and on a 90-year-old Air Force veteran's land.
Chhotray visited the town to document how the community managed to stop it, from blocking bulldozers to unearthing 75-year-old land records and filing lawsuits.
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