Protect the Livable Plant We Love: Addressing the Climate Impacts of Military Emissions

Cindy Piester is a peace and justice organizer, is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura, and serves on the board of Unitarian Universalist for a Just Economic Community.

Cindy is the key author of the proposed 2022 Action of Immediate Witness, “CODE RED for Humanity – Protect the Livable Plant We Love – Addressing the Climate Impacts of Military Emissions.” To learn more about the role of Actions of Immediate Witness at the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregation’s annual meeting, the General Assembly, click here.

Cindy offers the following reflection on the importance of this proposed Action of Immediate of Witness:

As we face the uncertainties of life in this world, we have been told by thousands of scientists that without the most urgent action at scale, the peoples of this planet  face unimaginable suffering as a result of rapidly advancing climate change that is currently outpacing our every effort.  Part of this is a lack of will and inability to confront the entrenched and intertwined powers of fossil fuel industries and militarism.

The United States Military, despite its ongoing efforts, remains the world’s largest institutional user of fossil fuels and is consequently the world’s largest institutional contributor to GHG emissions.  These emissions accumulate in our atmosphere and the United States is, by far, the nation responsible for the largest amount of that accumulation. As a result, this nation has been responsible, and continues to be responsible for tremendous suffering around the world from the impacts of climate change that has brought  drought, rising sea levels, loss of the coral reefs, and this list is endless. All of this has, in turn, contributed to water and food insecurity, loss of species and mass migrations.

This Action of Immediate Witness, CODE RED for Humanity – Protect the Livable Plant We Love – Addressing the Climate Impacts of Military Emissions calls for UUs to act with wisdom and courage and demand that these emissions be included in the US annual reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and be delineated and included as part of our Nationally Determined Contributions.  President Biden has promised to lead by example.  This is one way to put some real teeth into that leadership.

This AIW has been endorsed by UUs for a Just Economic Community, UU Service Committee, UU Ministry for Earth, UU BIPOC Climate Justice Caucus, UU Social Justice, UU Young Adults for Climate Justice, and UU Peace Network.  It is further supported by members of the State Action Network including California, Florida, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, and Wisconsin.

We face many challenges but without a life sustaining planet, the future of humanity is in the most desperate condition it has yet had to endure.