True Threat to Humanity

We have entered the era of Climate Catastrophe, and our president and Congress must respond appropriately. Instead, they continue to pour billions of dollars every year into war-making that will further compromise the health of the Earth and the survival of its people.

by Koohan Paik-ManderWe are drowning and burning and choking because of climate change.The world is haunted by images of commuters in China, in a dark, subway car with muddy water up to their necks, standing in order to breathe.

Only days before, Germany and Belgium witnessed deluges of water that swept away centuries-old, half-timbered houses, leaving hundreds dead. A few days before that, Oman, New Zealand, New York, and elsewhere had also been deluged.

Meanwhile, out-of-control fires on the west coast are belching so much smoke that New Yorkers can't breathe.We have entered the era of Climate Catastrophe, and our president and Congress must respond appropriately.

Instead, they continue to pour billions of dollars every year into war-making that will further compromise the health of the Earth and the survival of its people.In June 2021, the U.

S. released the FY 2022 defense budget request.

The theme was singular: to dominate China. The wish list came to $715 billion.

Then, the following month, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to pile on another $25 billion in a nearly unanimous bipartisan vote. (Only Elizabeth Warren demurred.

)The floods, fires, tornadoes, rain bombs and mudslides are, by far, the biggest threat to global security. Not China.

Hypersonic Arms RaceThe specter of "the China threat" has been effective in justifying endless support for war, expansion of the nuclear arsenal, and developing uber-costly high-tech weapons, like hypersonics, that don't even function yet. Even if they did function, they would open up the chance of miscalculation that could easily tip into nuclear war.

What makes hypersonic weapons so unique is not their speed, but rather, their maneuverability. They can keep their target a secret by taking a surprising pivot just before striking.

This makes them impossible to intercept with current technologies. It also makes them prime candidates for a miscalculated retaliatory second strike, and perilous escalation.

By contrast, the Pentagon's sales pitches stress how much further ahead China and Russia are in their hypersonics development. This narrative has so far been very successful in garnering Congressional support, so much so, that we now find...