#225 | The Bootprint Of Empire: The Environmental Impacts Of The US War Machine w/ Oliver Belcher

Intro: 12:11 | Outro: 1:00:08

In this episode, I speak with Oliver Belcher, Assistant Professor in Human Geography at Durham University and co-author of ‘Hidden carbon costs of the “everywhere war”: Logistics, geopolitical ecology, and the carbon boot‐print of the US military’ with Patrick Bigger, Ben Neimark, Cara Kennelly. A summary of their research was published at The Conversation ‘US military is a bigger polluter than as many as 140 countries – shrinking this war machine is a must.’

This discussion is about the often obscured impacts the United States’ global military presence has on the planetary climate system at large. Oliver and his colleagues’ research points to the fact “[g]reenhouse gas emission accounting usually focuses on how much energy and fuel civilians use. But recent work, including our own, shows that the US military is one of the largest polluters in history, consuming more liquid fuels and emitting more climate-changing gases than most medium-sized countries. If the US military were a country, its fuel usage alone would make it the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, sitting between Peru and Portugal.” We discuss why this reality is often overlooked in climate and environmental studies, and how the Military-Industrial-Complex is one of the largest purveyors of environmental and climate change in the world today. When it comes to international efforts to mitigate climate change, the overbearing effects of the maintenance and expansion of the United States Empire is the “elephant in the room” in addressing the global climate crisis. What’s also examined in this research is the awareness the US military has of its own impact on the climate system, as the “US military has long understood that it isn’t immune from the potential consequences of climate change – recognising it as a “threat multiplier” that can exacerbate other risks.” In spite of this, the “American military’s climate policy remains contradictory. There have been attempts to "green" aspects of its operations by increasing renewable electricity generation on bases, but it remains the single largest institutional consumer of hydrocarbons in the world. It has also locked itself into hydrocarbon-based weapons systems for years to come, by depending on existing aircraft and warships for open-ended operations.” (http://bit.ly/396LbnZ)

As Oliver argues in this interview and in his research, to even approach a proper plan to mitigate global climate disruption, anti-imperialism is crucial and demanding the shuttering of US military bases across the globe is imperative. 

Oliver Belcher is an Assistant Professor in Human Geography at Durham University. His research investigates transformations driven by computation in warfare, aesthetics, and environmental politics. He holds an MA and BA in Geography from University of Kentucky, and a PhD in Geography from University of British Columbia.

Episode Notes:

- Read ‘US military is a bigger polluter than as many as 140 countries – shrinking this war machine is a must.’: http://bit.ly/396LbnZ

- Read Oliver and his colleagues’ paper ‘Hidden carbon costs of the “everywhere war”: Logistics, geopolitical ecology, and the carbon boot‐print of the US military’: http://bit.ly/394aZBi

- I reference the article ‘U.S. Military Could Collapse Within 20 Years Due to Climate Change, Report Commissioned By Pentagon Says’ by Nafeez Ahmed: http://bit.ly/397EW3A

- The song featured in this episode is “War” by Edwin Starr.