War is Not Green: On the Transition to a Sustainable Peace Economy

US imperialism is directly connected to hundreds of millions of people's lives throughout the world, capital accumulation and global inequality, climate change, fascism. The U.S. enforces its violent empire by maintaining almost 800 military bases around the world. Each one contaminates the soil. Occupies land. Each base contributes to the U.S. military project’s status as #1 institutional polluter in the world, as it unleashes over a billion metric tons of CO2 in the atmosphere. As it destroys the built and natural environment wherever its boots touch the ground. In this episode, we engage with Jodie Evans from CODEPINK to explore the crucial relationship between war and environmental degradation. We unpack the concept of the War Economy, its devastating impacts on our planet, and discuss the urgent need for a shift towards a Peace Economy. Join us as we challenge the narratives surrounding militarism and advocate for a world where peace and sustainability coexist. Support the Podcast via PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url The environmental movement and the peace movement share a target: militarism. War is driven by resource extraction; without it, the push for control of fossil fuels, rare earth minerals, shipping ports and channels would not be necessary nor possible. Therefore a Peace Economy would help keep the fossil fuels in the ground and direct investment in clean and renewable energy, as well as regenerative growth in agriculture and green infrastructure that both create jobs and improve our biosphere as a place for living and thriving. For an extended interview and other benefits, become an EcoJustice Radio patron at https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio Resources/Articles: CODEPINK WING resource page https://www.codepink.org/wing and Elephant In The Room campaign: https://www.codepink.org/elephant_in_the_room Jodie Evans is a co-founder and board member of CODEPINK [https://www.codepink.org/] with over 40 years of activism in peace, environmental, women’s rights, and social justice. She has traveled to war zones to promote peaceful conflict resolution and works locally to advocate for divestment from war and build peace economies. Jodie served in Jerry Brown’s administration, ran his presidential campaign, and authored two books: Stop the Next War Now and Twilight of Empire. As a documentary producer and board member of the Rainforest Action Network and Women’s Media Center, she is a powerful voice for activism and policy change. Jodie has appeared on numerous podcasts and TV segments over the years and is a sought-after guest panelist on the topic of local peace economies, feminist foreign policy, and using activism to cultivate change. Jack Eidt is an urban planner, environmental journalist, and climate organizer, as well as award-winning fiction writer. He is Co-Founder of SoCal 350 Climate Action and Executive Producer of EcoJustice Radio. He writes a column on PBS SoCal called High & Dry [https://www.pbssocal.org/people/high-dry]. He is also Founder and Publisher of WilderUtopia [https://wilderutopia.com], a website dedicated to the question of Earth sustainability, finding society-level solutions to environmental, community, economic, transportation and energy needs. Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/ Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/ Support the Podcast: Patreon https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=LBGXTRM292TFC&source=url Executive Producer and Host: Jack Eidt Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats Episode 266 Photo credit: CODEPINK