In our global struggle against war and militarism, we have more allies than ever before. The first months of 2026 have laid bare the contradictions, hypocrisies, and insidious interests of the U.S. war economy — but we’re also seeing people all over the world organize and respond. Early in the morning on January 3rd, I watched as the U.S. conducted an attempted regime change operation in Venezuela. Over the next few days, I saw mobilizations pop up in one city after another, each with clear messaging. People were connecting the dots of the resource-driven motivation of the invasion and kidnapping: "No Blood for Oil." I saw new engagement from a wide array of organizations, new toolkits for and from the climate movement, and much-needed discussions about the impacts of this act of war on working-class Black and Brown communities in the Gulf South.
During this period of brazen imperial expansion and militarization, we know that now is the moment to unite our movements. A few weeks ago, we delivered our letter titled “Environmentalists Unite: War Fuels the Climate Crisis” to the Sierra Club’s national office — our second attempt. This time around, we received a response from the Sierra Club’s Executive Director, Loren Blackford, declining to sign onto our open letter. And that’s okay: our goal was never to simply accrue organization names on a list. Our goal is to find the best approach for each climate org’s role, tactics, and base. The climate crisis cannot be fought if militarism is left untouched.
Join us in asking Ms. Blackford for a meeting to learn and discuss more about climate chaos and war.
Despite this response from national leadership, the Executive Committee of the Sierra Club’s staff union has signed onto our open letter. Meanwhile, a number of local Sierra Club chapters have been hosting and attending screenings of Earth’s Greatest Enemy, the new film directed by Abby Martin and Mike Prysner. Next Wednesday, we will be hosting a webinar with Abby, followed by a strategy session to discuss the response to the film, how the story is moving people, and how to spread the word for Earth Month. RSVP here.
I keep talking about this film because it’s one of the most important organizing tools that we have. It’s impossible to see the scenes of communities in North Carolina being poisoned by the notorious military facility Camp Lejeune, without making connections: to the hundreds of carcinogen-contaminated military facilities around the country and around the world; to the poisonous data centers being funded with Pentagon contracts, built from minerals and fuel extracted by U.S. military invasions globally. It’s impossible to hear the stories of families still suffering health impacts from the U.S. bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan without thinking of the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the slaughter and ecocide that will have impacts lasting generations. The film resonates because, at every level — from our children to our cities to our sea life to the very future of our planet — our fate is tied to the fate of the U.S. empire. We must act now to defeat U.S. imperialism in order to survive and build a new world where we all can thrive. The film is deeply moving, and we’ve heard from attendees how it forces them to rethink their approach to environmental organizing.
Tell Ms. Blackford that we have information that serves her mission to care for the planet!
New spaces for collaboration are emerging every day as communities mobilize to stop ICE raids and halt the construction of data centers. As the U.S. lashes out domestically and internationally — from Gaza to Iran, and Cuba to Venezuela, and Minneapolis to NYC — organizing across movements is key. Sierra Club chapters are already doing this work and are part of creating the educational and networking spaces at Earth’s Greatest Enemy screenings. So much depends on our ability to build relationships grounded in mutual dependence. Nothing should hold us back from fighting for one another.
Join us on WEDNESDAY at 8PM ET/5PM PT to hear about lessons and action steps from the Earth’s Greatest Enemy directors!RSVP NOW!
👉 For more:
- Help to bring screenings of Earth’s Greatest Enemy to the Sierra Club! Sign up to host your own screenings for Earth Day!
- Check out my article on data centers and the war economy!
- Support Cuba in breaking the horrific U.S. fuel blockade.
- Check out the War Is Not Green webpage to learn more.
- Join our bi-weekly War Is Not Green working group!
- Sign up to organize and engage locally!
Until Liberation,
Aaron, Jodie, and the entire CODEPINK team
