US IMPERIALISM: AT WAR WITH THE PLANET

The biggest enemy in the fight to save the planet is US Imperialism, writes Abby Martin.

EARTH DAY in 2025 America can only be seen as dystopian. Bringing awareness to a cause the country has failed; a window for change that has, in many ways, closed. The crisis that Earth Day sought to warn about 50 years ago is here, and will precipitously get worse for the rest of our lives. But our system, and its corporations, will continue to go through the motions of Earth Appreciation posts as if the doomsday clock has stopped.

The wholly inadequate (and arguably criminal) climate plans of the last administration are considered too radical for the new one, which is literally hitting the gas on fossil fuels, as well as shredding protections for endangered species and habitats, and even lifting bans on the most terrifying chemical of our lifetimes: PFAS, “the next public health crisis.”

The necessary dramatic pivot needed to prevent the worst outcomes of climate change seems totally out of reach. But in the words of Palestinian author Mohammed el-Kurd: We have a duty, an obligation, to be hopeful.

Hope must rest on reality. And the reality is, the biggest enemy in the fight to save the planet is US Imperialism. This occurs directly, as a mass polluter, and indirectly as the force which holds the insane system of global capitalism and resource extraction in place.

So, it is up to those of us in the world of anti-war and anti-militarist activism to raise this banner in the environmental movement. The problem is, it’s a dense and complicated topic without much educational material. There are great academic papers, great articles, and great films about certain aspects of the Pentagon’s environmental impact. But there has yet to be a comprehensive, full picture.

Until this year! At Empire Files, we have spent the last few years on a documentary project with that exact aim. And we are mere months from the release.

Many have heard the phrase “the US military is the world’s biggest polluter,” referring to it being the biggest institutional consumer of fossil fuels. The film started as just an exploration of that carbon footprint, but quickly uncovered a much bigger story about habitat destruction, chemical dumping, mass harming of marine mammals, nuclear waste, toxic fallout from warfare, and more.

Once the film is out, we’ll be taking it on screening tour   throughout America that will bring together activists and organisations from both the anti-war and climate movement.

If you’re interested in hosting a screening this year, you can fill out this interest form as we plan the logistics. And if you’d like to contribute to the project and tour, donations are greatly appreciated.

Earth Day should include a mass condemnation of the US war machine. We hope to contribute to that task, and are excited to share our contribution soon.