Memorial Day: A Time to Commemorate Mother Nature

[Better Believe It]

Memorial Day: A Time to Commemorate Mother Nature
Op-ed, Joseph Nevins
May 30, 2010

While Memorial Day officially commemorates U.S. soldiers who have died during military service, it should also serve as a reminder of the ravages of war more broadly—not only in terms of lost human lives, but also for its devastating ecological impacts.

Here in the United States, one rarely hears of the everyday environmental damage related to U.S. wars and militarism. Indeed, it is far more common to learn of the Pentagon’s efforts to “go green.” The subtitle of a 2010 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, for instance, characterizes the Pentagon as “stepping forward to combat climate change.” Meanwhile, President Obama recently extolled the military’s endeavors to reduce its fuel consumption via biofuel-using technologies, specifically the Navy’s FA/18 fighter jet, nicknamed the Green Hornet due to its putative eco credentials, and the Marine Corp’s Light Armored Vehicle.

Such “greenwashing” masks the fact that the U.S. military is the world’s single biggest consumer of fossil fuels, and the single entity most responsible for destabilizing the Earth’s climate. Devouring about 330,000 barrels per day (a barrel has 42 gallons), the U.S. military would be ranked number 37 in terms of oil consumption if it were a nation-state—ahead of countries such as the Philippines, Portugal, and Nigeria—according to the CIA Factbook.

Among the ironies of all this, given that a central goal of U.S. military strategy is to ensure the flow of oil to the United States (a policy known as the Carter Doctrine), is that the Pentagon’s voracious appetite for energy helps to justify its very existence and seemingly never-ending growth. Engaged in multiple wars, and with a network of hundreds of military bases around the world and dozens more in the United States, the Pentagon’s budget is now roughly the equivalent of all of the rest of the world’s militaries combined.

On Memorial Day, let us remember all those who have died while serving in the military—as well as those killed and maimed by war. But let us also reflect upon the environmental ravages brought about by war and militarism. More important, let us dedicate ourselves to ending them. More than ever, humanity—and Mother Earth—can no long afford them.



Read the full article at:

http://newamericamedia.org/2010/05/memorial-day-a-time-to-commemorate-mother-nature.php

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