Abby Martin, the iconoclast journalist along with her US military veteran husband Mike Prysner spotlight the US military as the largest institutional polluter: revealing the super power as a significant contributor to the world’s climate change.
The film The Earth’s Greatest Enemy reveals US Military cover ups, US imperialism and ecological destruction through the US military’s deep web of strategic military operations and coalition bases around the world.
The documentary follows Abby Martin as she shifts her interests to climate change after the birth of her son. Realising that the earth’s ecological vulnerability is at a critical juncture.
How climate change changed it all
The cogent and confronting documentary begins in veterans row in Brentwood, California a demonstrative encampment by US veterans, which becomes the harbinger that foretells the US government’s misuse and dominance of land in the film.
The compelling opening of a US veteran living in the encampment becomes the precursor to Abby Martin’s critique on the American government and the American war machine.
Roused by mainstream media reports, Martin said she is “a product of the war on terror”, which leads Martin in her quest to create her own media to question both American politics, military and the media.
She highlights the work of Dahr Jamail, author of End of Ice, who has observed changes in the glaciers in a remote community in Alaska where he lived.
Jamail became a well noted climate journalist who reflected on his thoughts sparked by former United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld’s push to lead America into war on Iraq.
Like Martin, Jamail begins to understand change in his own interests and how global governance, government negligence play in today’s environmental climate.
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Martin’s warning to Australia
During a Q&A after a screening at Luna Theatre in Leederville, Martin warned viewers about the US military as the biggest institutional polluter to other countries it has bases on like Japan, Spain and Guam for being the many reasons ecological damage has happened.
“The US come here for a couple years and they dump all of their waste and toxicity and contaminate the water and the air and there is no accountability,” she said.
“We have seen it with Spain, once you don’t follow along, you will have a gun to your head,” she said.
Martin stressed that when the US arrive it is hard for them to go.
“Once the US comes they don’t leave.”
Many viewers were urged to talk to martins about pressing issues about military bases within Perth and surrounding communities.
One screening viewer stressed how important it is that people are aware of the military operations at the Stirling base and its war rehearsals.
In her response, Martin questioned the audience.
“Why would Australians want to be slaves to another country’s military?” she said.
“You have seventeen year-olds blow sh*t up, protect your country, it’s yours,” Martin said.
Martin warns viewers on the patronage between Australia and the US noting it’s not an equally balanced joint partnership.
“It’s so obvious for so long, when you destroy landscapes, those toxics are unleashed,” she said.
Ra Castel
I am a journalist student at ECU, YouTuber and Content producer with over 249K views on TikTok, 25K+ views on Instagram reels and posts and 4k views on YouTube. My intent for my works to progress into more video journalism that will cover all sorts of topics from entertainment and breaking news. Other journalist mediums I am interested in diving into are podcasting, radio and content creation. You can find me on all social media platforms and Linkedin for more content.
