The small Lane County town of Lowell, Ore., which boasts a population of less than 900, was cited in peace studies graduate student Brian Bogart’s presentation as having 25 companies contracted to the Pentagon. This kind of example is a strong revelation of just how much the U.S. economy desperately needs military growth and war to be successful, he said.
Bogart presented his research findings on the relationship between global warming and war to an audience of just fewer than 30 people in the Chiles building Wednesday night. He outlined a plan that could reduce the current harm of global warming, and potentially put an end to U.S. reliance on military expansion and destruction.
Bogart listed several statistics and facts to explain the dependence that the U.S. and the world economy has on war. For instance, Bogart said, more than 10,000 overseas companies are contracted in some way to the Pentagon. In addition, he said, more than 400 U.S. universities also currently have contracts with the Pentagon.
This “dependence on military growth” stemmed from the Truman Administration (1945-1953) that began aiding military industries by essentially bailing them out with American tax dollars. Bogart said that this marked the beginning of an era in which the Pentagon has consistently set up deals with private businesses.
Bogart believes that military consumption of fossil fuels and other materials is the largest contribution to global warming today. Therefore, he stressed a plan that would shift the Pentagon’s focus toward creating products and other technology that would be more green and vastly reduce global warming. He called this transformation one of “construction” rather than “destruction.”
Bogart feels that the Pentagon should and could end the perpetuating cycle that consumes and damages, replacing the concentration on a more earth-friendly approach. For this to realistically happen, though, Bogart said that the next president of the United States must change the expansion-minded strategy of the military to one that protects its own shores and doesn’t intrude on other countries so frequently. This type of plan, he said, would also help unify the United States with several other countries around the world that are similarly concerned with the global warming conflict. Therefore, this approach would not only help the earth but could simultaneously increase peaceful efforts internationally.
“We must transcend beyond our differences to fight global warming,” Bogart said. Without any action, “the crisis will skyrocket beyond human capacity to adapt.”
One positive indication of future change mentioned in the presentation: The Pentagon itself has admitted its heavy toll on global warming and supposedly wants to take action. Since the Pentagon is ready for change, Bogart said the 2008 presidential election is pivotal. It will be imperative that a president who is determined to strive toward this goal is elected, Bogart said.
The response of the crowd seemed to show support. University graduate student Madoka Kusakabe was unaware of the connection between global warming and the military prior to the presentation.
She said it “opened her mind” and believes “it’s up to us to initiate action.”
University junior Ben Goodling said “this issue of global warming and war is very important and it’s crucial that activists like Bogart continue to raise public awareness of what’s going on.”