Trump’s $1tn for Pentagon to add huge planet-heating emissions, study shows. Exclusive: 17% increase in military spending will add emissions equivalent to those of some entire countries

A man running in a heatwave, and Donald Trump speaking during military parade. Composite: Getty Images

Donald Trump’s huge spending boost for the Pentagon will produce an additional 26 megatons (Mt) of planet-heating gases – on a par with the annual carbon equivalent (CO₂e) emissions generated by 68 gas power plants or the entire country of Croatia, new research reveals.

The Pentagon’s 2026 budget – and climate footprint – is set to surge to $1tn thanks to the president’s One Big Beautiful Act, a 17% rise on last year.

Military emissions are closely tied to military spending.

The budget bonanza will push the Pentagon’s total greenhouse emissions to a staggering 178 Mt of CO₂e, resulting in an estimated $47bn in economic damages globally, according to new analysis by the Climate and Community Institute (CCI), a US-based research thinktank, shared exclusively with the Guardian.

The huge increase in military spending comes amid worsening climate breakdown, and as Americans – many of them Trump voters – are being hit by destructive extreme weather events such as wildfires, extreme heat and the recent floods in Texas, as well as sea-level rise and other slow-onset climate effects.

Trump’s 2026 budget legislation slashes federal funding for science, education, Medicaid, food stamps, emergency management, the National Weather Service and humanitarian aid – in order to pay for the military expansion, tax cuts for the wealthy, and Trump’s violent immigration crackdown. Trump has also withdrawn the US from the Paris climate accords for the second time, and rolled back Biden-era investments in renewable energies such as solar and wind that are key to weaning the US off fossil fuels in order to curtail climate catastrophe.

The US is the largest historical contributor to the climate crisis, and currently the second worst emitter after China – a country with quadruple the population.

Emitting 178 Mt of CO₂e would make the US military and its industrial apparatus the 38th largest emitter in the world if it were its own nation – and more than the entire annual carbon footprint of Ethiopia, a country of 135 million people.

“Every extra dollar grows the Pentagon’s carbon bootprint – and shrinks the chances for a livable future. With this additional funding from the big beautiful bill, the US’s trillion-dollar war machine will be responsible for more emissions than 138 individual countries,” said Patrick Bigger, lead author and CCI research director.

“Supposedly this spending is for national security. But what security is there in more droughts, floods, hurricanes, and rising seas?”  ... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/17/trump-pentagon-emissions 

  [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine, or at least fair and just laws and policies]

Blogged for Memorial Day- a letter I sent to my local newspaper 2025: This Earth Day please start noticing how much pollution and injustice war creates.

Dear Patriot News,

Our earth, our precious earth is home to a diverse and fascinating mix of flora and fauna, including us.  We live we die. Life in general is not fair, but we human beings should do all we can to make life more fair, more bearable, and more beautiful for more people.

This Earth Day please start noticing how much pollution and injustice war creates. 

Yes, we need to support our troops, but we tax payers should not be funding the weapons industry.  Creating and selling weapons of war inevitably leads to killing and endless cycles of revenge and vindictiveness worldwide. No family is safe.

Our collective recorded history has been one of violence in many ways to countless people and to our planet.  Our future needs to be different. 

Our future needs to be of hope and helpfulness, cooperation and kindness- prioritizing good investments in nonviolence and sustainable practices that help our planet earth and all its inhabitants.

Weapons and war are poisoning our planet, just as much as racist hate poisons hearts and minds and turns people into monsters doing despicable things to others.

Harassing and killing people, destroying lives and livelihoods, is wrong.  Be braver than a bully, be stronger than tyrant- be aware and be kind.  Be kind to and about others, even those you do not like.

Diplomacy and dialogue create security- and prosperity for ALL, not just lucky billionaires. 

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab 

Prioritize Human Rights, The Rule of Fair & Just Laws, and Golden Rule Thinking: END WAR

 

My more recent Letters

Tragedies abound here on planet earth, but at least we can try to make our world a better, more fair, just and secure place for more people.

Racist times created hell on earth for "others" then, we really should know better now...

Dear America- Funding religious extremists and charlatans is a recipe for disaster.

Dear America- Please do not let this tragic situation became a reason for more people to be treated more unequally, with more Palestinians and Palestinian Americans being doxed, destroyed, and displaced.

Life is not a video game. These are real human beings and American made weaponry has been creating a Holocaust with The Rule of Lawlessness in the Holy Land.

Taxpayers' money should not be shoring up greed, corporate corruption, injustice, and war.

Please, let Golden Rule thinking and the rule of fair and just laws guide US all towards a better way forward.

State sponsored violence is not the way to convince vulnerable people to veer away from arming religious tyranny and terrorism.

Hate crimes are escalating here in America with people primed by to think, say and do horrible things...

Slavery, Segregation and Forced Displacement are wrong. Wrong then and wrong now

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."   https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Dear Elected Officials- Stop poisoning the land, and undermining international law.

Statue of Liberty Weeps

 Dear Elected Officials,

I have respect for the rule of fair and just laws, and I have respect for good and decent people who live their lives making the world a better place (for everyone)... but I have zero respect for all our many Republican and Democratic politicians and our myopic mainstream Fourth Estate as our tax money is used to create crimes against humanity in The Holy Land.

Stop poisoning the land, and undermining international law. 

I don't care what your religion is- keep it private and personal and do not keep using our tax money to fund bigotry, injustice, weapons manufacturing and escalating violence here or there or anywhere please! 

Modern times call for modern approaches- specifically we should be investing in a just and lasting peace which starts with full and equal rights for all people: One state or two for the people of historic Palestine and Israel- start with the demand for and fair expectation of full respect for basic human rights and the rule of fair and just laws for ALL.

And stop buying into Zionist propaganda.  

Start noticing the very real plight and suffering of the native non-Jewish men, women and children of historic Palestine.

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

"The United Nations was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell." ~Dag Hammarskjöld, second Secretary-General of the United Nations

NOTES  https://x.com/AnnieAnnab

 https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes

The MATH of modern GENOCIDE & the US weapons industry.

Protect Humanity

Thirty Jewish organisations have issued a powerful joint statement defending Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, denouncing what they describe as coordinated attempts to undermine her mandate through false accusations of anti-Semitism.

We are witnessing the final stage of genocide in Gaza- Arwa Mahdawi in The Guardian: Omer Bartov is an Israeli-American professor of Holocaust and genocide studies. He has issued a grim warning on Gaza

+13,319 children killed in Gaza [PALESTINE] +35,055 children lost one/both parents in past year +1M children deeply traumatized .... End this war on innocent children

Human Rights Are Not White Privilege #PalestineLivesMatter

Why is Germany supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza? In 1953, Germany started paying reparations – not to individual survivors of the Holocaust, but the state of Israel in the form of industrial goods, including weaponry.

Israel passes law allowing Palestinian children under 14 to be jailed: More than 270 Palestinian minors are currently held in Israeli detention, despite UN resolutions and international treaties prohibiting the imprisonment of children, according to Palestinian right groups.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of #HumanRights reminds us that everyone is born #free and #equal in dignity and rights. Let’s act with compassion and respect to foster a world of equality.

Jordan's former foreign minister, Marwan Muasher, tells MEE that Jordan is worried Palestinians will be displaced en masse: “What we have seen in Gaza is an example not just of killing Palestinians but of making Gaza uninhabitable and trying to affect a mass transfer of Palestinians into Egypt."

In Forest of Noise, renowned Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha explores the pain, loss, and struggle of life in Gaza, while holding onto his connection to home

Earth after Israel is done defending itself:

2024 Snoopy & Handala & the Statue of Liberty

The greatest challenge to being alive: To witness the injustice of this world, and not allow it to consume our light.

Love to all, Ibtisam the Palestinian author

70% of the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza is funded by the American government: Consecutive American governments have been diverting taxpayer money to finance the Israeli genocide against Palestinians, resulting in the killing of Americans too, instead of spending it on education and infrastructure for its own citizens.

Statement from the bishop of the ELCJHL about Israel’s decision to close UNRWA: “We ask you to join us in condemning this action in the strongest possible terms”

Israeli settlements and outposts are used to take over Palestinian land and enable Israeli settlers to torment and terrorize Palestinians, transferring the protected population by force in violation of international law.

The brutality in Gaza must stop: We cannot afford to remain silent or complacent in the face of such brutality. Now more than ever, the American people must advocate for the rights and dignity of the Palestinians.

"The United Nations was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell." ~Dag Hammarskjöld, second Secretary-General of the United Nations

‘Death is everywhere’: fears grow that Israel plans to seize land in Gaza Increasingly violent siege of north raises suspicions about Netanyahu’s war aims

Philippe Lazzarini: Children & their education are not featured in any discussions when “experts “ or politicians talk about replacing UNWRA. Why? Because in the absence of a functioning state, there is no alternative.

Israel kills the journalists. Western media kills the truth of genocide in Gaza: Western publics are being subjected to a campaign of psychological warfare, where genocide is classed as ‘self-defence’ and opposition to it ‘terrorism’

It's been 107 years since the Balfour Declaration and Britain has not yet atoned for its grave historic mistake. It is time to make amends with the Palestinian people.

BBC: What happened to the young girl captured in a photograph of Gaza detainees

Israeli assault has caused ‘apocalyptic’ situation in northern Gaza, UN warns: Key officials say entire population of northern Gaza ‘at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence’

Author Arundhati Roy lambasts ‘US and Israel’s genocide in Gaza and Lebanon' in her acceptance speech for the PEN Pinter Prize at a ceremony in London earlier this month #Palestine

United Nations Security Council today underscored that UNRWA remains the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza & affirmed that no organization can replace or substitute its capacity and mandate to serve Palestinian refugees and civilians in urgent need of life-saving assistance.

‘I couldn’t cry over my children like everyone else’: the tragedy of Palestinian journalist Wael al-Dahdouh. After his wife and two of his children were killed in Gaza, Al Jazeera journalist Wael al-Dahdouh became famous around the world for his decision to keep reporting. But this was just the start of his heartbreaking journey By Nesrine Malik

Concern for Lebanon's heritage grows as Israel intensifies destruction of historic landmarks: Israeli attacks in Lebanon have devastated historic sites, fueling widespread condemnation and highlighting the urgent threat to the country's cultural heritage #urbicide

“I disagree with Kamala’s position on the war in Gaza. How can I vote for her?” ... Here is Bernie Sanders well thought out answer

The rights of Palestine Refugees exist separate to UNRWA, including the right of return, which was set out in resolution 194, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, and predates the creation of UNRWA in 1949. Besides the right to return, the right to family unity and the right to reparations would also remain in UNRWA’s absence, as would the refugee camps of Gaza and the West Bank.

UNRWA was created by the UN Member States. Today’s decision by the Israeli parliament barring UNRWA from its life-saving and health-protecting work on behalf of millions of Palestinians will have devastating consequences.

All the way back to 1948...

Silence is Complicity... and silence turns voters off, ensuring that Democracy dies in the darkness.

ELECTIONS: Our tax money should go to the people's needs- not war mongering and weapons manufacturing for foreign countries that use bigotry and injustice to determine who gets security and who gets their home demolished.

Dear America- We are in this collectively- no exceptions... Stop the hate- and the pollution of war.

Dear America- Don't let Israel drive a wedge between you and the truth.

Dear America, Please Help Stop Institutionalized Bigotry & Injustice

Dear America- Israel can not be trusted, and should not be subsidized

Don't give Israel the power to destroy the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, International Law, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights... and America.

Accusing peaceful pro-Palestine protesters of being "antisemitic" pleases Israel but it does not make any Jews any safer anywhere.

Send an honorable message far and wide- we believe in freedom of and from religion... and we believe in real justice, peace, and security for ALL !

 

"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..."   https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Emissions from Israel’s war in Gaza have ‘immense’ effect on climate catastrophe

The majority of the carbon dioxide estimated to have been produced can be attributed to Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Image

 Exclusive: First months of conflict produced more planet-warming gases than 20 climate-vulnerable nations do in a year, study shows

The climate costs of war and militaries can no longer be ignored

Nina Lakhani Climate justice reporter @ninalakhani Tue 9 Jan 2024 03.30 EST

The planet-warming emissions generated during the first two months of the war in Gaza were greater than the annual carbon footprint of more than 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, new research reveals.

The vast majority (over 99%) of the 281,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂ equivalent) estimated to have been generated in the first 60 days following the 7 October Hamas attack can be attributed to Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis by researchers in the UK and US.

According to the study, which is based on only a handful of carbon-intensive activities and is therefore probably a significant underestimate, the climate cost of the first 60 days of Israel’s military response was equivalent to burning at least 150,000 tonnes of coal... READ MORE    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/09/emissions-gaza-israel-hamas-war-climate-change

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES or quotes or watch videos IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

U.S. and Israeli MILITARISM fuels GENOCIDE and ECOCIDE

 https://visualizingpalestine.org/visuals/no-war-no-warming-2023

Invest Time & Money in American Ideals - NOT ISRAEL ... letter to my elected officials

Dear President Biden & some of my other Elected Officials,

Federal law requires people doing the political bidding of a foreign government or entity inside the U.S. to register with the Justice Department.... so why the heck are you and most all of our other elected leaders (as well as way too much of our mainstream media) not registered and classified as agents for Israel?

Israel is a very foreign country that has wasted 75 years of sovereign possibility to cruelly persecute, impoverish, and displace the native non-Jewish men, women and children of historic Palestine. 

We should be funding and empowering real freedom, equality, justice, and security for all people, regardless of supposed race or religion right here in America!  Our inner cities, our rural areas, our schools, our health care system, social security, plus our roads and basic infrastructures- all need shoring up. Invest in America- not Israel!

Giving Israel money plus weapons of war (plus U.N. Security Council vetoes) as Israel cruelly imprisons, displaces, and bombs Palestinian men, women and children should be recognized as a crime against humanity, as well as a totally counterproductive investment.

Do we want reason and the rule of fair and just laws and investments to survive, or not!   

PLEASE step away from shaping an increasingly brutal future where pollution is rampant, corruption is the only way to get ahead, and race or religion is a requirement for citizenship and respect.  

To paraphrase American hero Martin Luther King Jr., I believe that the content of character should count more than alleged race or religion.

Furthermore, on the topic of agents for a foreign country, why the heck are American citizens so easily able to serve in Israel's military, actively targeting and murdering the Palestinian men, women and children, and why are so many Americans so easily able to invest in Israel's illegal settlement projects through out the West Bank?!

Sincerely,

Anne Selden Annab

Notes

Today's Nativity scene inspired by Israeli Bombing Campaigns 2023 #Gaza #Bethlehem, #Palestine #Christmas

GAZA UPDATE: More than 6,600 Palestinian children in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7, according to the Governmental Media Office. Thousands more are still missing under the rubble.

The Universal Declaration is a roadmap, helping to end wars, heal divisions and promote lives of peace and dignity for all. Learn more & join the movement to help achieve a world of freedom, equality & justice for all

My letter to The Guardian RE The people of Gaza need a UN protection force

Israel (& America & the UK & Europe)'s cruel War on Gaza & the Children of Palestine 2023

The WEST BANK archipelago

ISRAEL SWALLOWING GAZA STRIP: Israel has no borders, neither by its own admission or by international law. That is why it is grabbing any land it can. - Salman Abu Sitta

My letter to The Guardian Re The daily, grinding violence in the West Bank is worse than ever before. Why does it go unseen?

The daily, grinding violence in the West Bank is worse than ever before. Why does it go unseen? ... in The Guardian

Symbols of #Palestine

We Are Not Numbers- Palestinian youth tell their human stories behind the numbers in the news

Nothing- a poem by Ahmed Dremly of Gaza Palestine

O Little Town of Bethlehem, Palestine

"We collect, translate and publish texts from Palestinian writers confronting the genocide in Gaza, to lift up their words." @arablit : Hiba Abu Nada 1991-2023

Burqin Church (كنيسة برقين), considered the fifth holiest place for Christians worldwide, and the third oldest church in the world. It is located in the village of Burqin in Palestine’s Jenin Governorate (جنين) in the West Bank, Palestine

One day the wind will carry laughter instead of screams... from the river to the sea Palestine will be free

1948 Nakba: 15,000 killed, 750,000 displaced. 2023 Gaza: 21,000+ killed, 1.75M displaced

St Poryphyrius Church in Gaza, one of the oldest churchs in Palestine- bombed by Israel in 2023

Israel killed more journalists in Gaza in 7 weeks than all 20 YEARS of the Vietnam war & all 6 years of World War II

America's Mainstream Media & Fake News (thank you Jonathan Cook for your honor & honesty) ... illustrated by some randomly plucked up truth telling cartons, memes, and a map

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib's Statement Calling for the Release of ALL Hostages and Palestinian Political Prisoners.

What is Home

Vintage Historic Palestine Photos

Israeli settlers steal Palestinian farmers’ land in occupied West Bank: Emboldened by curfews and raids on Palestinians, illegal settlers have stepped up violence and property theft.

Dear Elected Leaders- Yes there are still some useful idiots willing to idolize Israel. But good leadership should not.

To quote a well known American hero...  "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."  I Have A Dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr.  in 1963