The Pentagon has three main tailpipes for planet-heating gasses: installations, operations, and industry. Installation-related emissions are byproduct

Calculating the per capita emissions of the military-industrial complex

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2023-01-25 11:30:06

The Pentagon has three main tailpipes for planet-heating gasses: installations, operations, and industry. Installation-related emissions are byproducts of the energy used to heat, cool, and otherwise run hundreds of thousands of military-owned buildings worldwide. Operational emissions largely come from burning petroleum products like jet and diesel fuel, and industry emissions accompany the production of armaments contracted out to private sector firms.

The three are interrelated to an extent. For example, a considerable amount of operational energy goes into sustaining the US military’s vast network of ~750 overseas bases with equipment deliveries, personnel rotations, etc. In addition to lower installation and operational emissions, a leaner military posture abroad might also help catalyze lower demand for weapons production.

Shrinking the military’s global bootprint to reduce its carbon footprint is my pitch in a recent article I wrote for Outrider. Legislating for the climate crisis is increasingly difficult, but there are still productive actions Biden can take without Congress. Closing unnecessary or counterproductive overseas bases is one of them. What I didn’t mention in the piece but will here is that advocating for this policy would present a great opportunity for the peace and climate movements to collaborate, which is something that doesn’t happen as much as it should.

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