On Tuesday, April 18, as we kick off Earth Day, let us introduce you to CODEPINK’s War is Not Green (WING) campaign that points to the Pentagon as the single largest emitter of greenhouse gasses and oil as the leading cause of interstate war.
If we want to thwart the climate crisis, we must address the elephant in the room: The Pentagon.
Join us as our WING campaigners Teddy Ogborn and Jodie Evans host a teach-in on the environmental impacts of US militarism, with a special focus on WING’s shareholder activism to hold BlackRock, one of the world’s largest investment firms, accountable for worsening the climate crisis and perpetuating the war economy. CODEPINK Co-Founder Medea Benjamin will update us on the war in Ukraine & its impact on the environment while we feature global voices on environmental challenges rooted in escalating US militarism.
Together, let's amplify the voices for climate justice!
Featuring
Keoni DeFranco is a community organizer, a kia'i wai, water protector and a kanaka maoli, Native Hawaiian, resident of Waimānalo, Oʻahu. Keoni was part of a delegation of kia‘i wai water protectors, who traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with Hawaii's representatives to discuss accelerating the defueling and decommissioning of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility. In 2021, the Navy's facility began leaking fuel into the freshwater aquifer underneath the island of Oʻahu, contaminating the water for an estimated 100,000 residents.
Steven Robert Donziger is an American attorney known for his legal battles with Chevron, in which he represented over 30,000 farmers and indigenous people in Ecuador who suffered environmental damage and health problems caused by oil drilling. The Ecuadorian court awarded the plaintiffs $9.5 billion in damages, which led Chevron to withdraw its assets from Ecuador and launch legal action against Donziger in the US. Having spent 45 days in prison and a combined total of 993 days under house arrest, Donziger was released on April 25, 2022. Donziger believes Chevron's demonization campaign is actually a fossil fuel industry "lab experiment" in disguise. The goal is to see how far industry can go in trying to silence its critics.
Julian Aguon is an Indigenous human rights lawyer and writer from Guam. He is the founder of Blue Ocean Law, a progressive firm that works at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice. He serves on the Global Advisory Council of Progressive International.
Medea Benjamin is the co-author with Nicolas J.S. Davies of the book, "War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict." A co-founder of the women-led peace group CODEPINK, Medea also co-founded the human rights group Global Exchange, the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, Unfreeze Afghanistan and ACERE: The Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect.
Teddy Ogborn is CODEPINK’s War Is Not Green (WING) Coordinator. They are a climate activist and organizer based in New York City. Before working at the intersection of climate and anti-militarism, Teddy worked as a film festival director, fencing coach, film producer, and high school English teacher in France.
Jodie Evans is the co-founder of CODEPINK. Since the start of the 2003 Iraq War, Jodie has traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Jordan on several occasions. In 2015 she was one of 30 women activists from fifteen countries who crossed the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, calling for peace and reconciliation between the two countries.
