EPISODE · May 13, 2026 · 47 MIN
War Has Always Been a Climate Issue
from Second Nature · host Commons
Your workout leggings, your morning commute, and the fertilizer to grow your food — what do they have in common? They're all fossil fuel legacies of war. In this episode, we connect the dots between the military and the climate crisis, tracing how wartime decisions made decades ago still shape and pollute our everyday lives.We sit down with Neta C. Crawford, professor of international relations at the University of St. Andrews and author of The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War, to unpack a staggering blind spot in our global emissions picture: the military. We also follow the money with Commons co-founder Sanchali Pal to understand how the U.S. kept military missions out of the Kyoto Protocol, and what that means for climate targets today. We also hear how our community feels about using their money to avoid funding wars they don't support. Episode rundown: (00:22) - The US military is the world's single largest institutional fossil fuel consumer. (01:31) - War's Industrial Afterlife: Nylon, fertilizer, and freeways. (05:55) - Community action: from campus divestment campaigns to rethinking their everyday spending. (09:02) - A deep dive into military emissions, hidden history, and the case for diplomacy. (38:07) - Following the Money: How Big Oil lobbied to keep military emissions off the global books (44:18) - Your vote and your wallet are more powerful climate tools than you think. (46:10) - Community Classified: Citizens’ Climate Lobby 📱 Want to make your money count? Download the Commons app .🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.📞 Want to submit to the show? We'd love to hear from you!📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Braden Marazzo-Nowicki, Diana Holguin, Drew, Julia Nolasco, Fionaa Bhatia, Nicole CollinsResearch: Makenna McBriertyEditing and engineering: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham
What this episode covers
Your workout leggings, your morning commute, and the fertilizer to grow your food — what do they have in common? They're all fossil fuel legacies of war. In this episode, we connect the dots between the military and the climate crisis, tracing how wartime decisions made decades ago still shape and pollute our everyday lives.We sit down with Neta C. Crawford, professor of international relations at the University of St. Andrews and author of The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War, to unpack a staggering blind spot in our global emissions picture: the military. We also follow the money with Commons co-founder Sanchali Pal to understand how the U.S. kept military missions out of the Kyoto Protocol, and what that means for climate targets today. We also hear how our community feels about using their money to avoid funding wars they don't support. Episode rundown: (00:22) - The US military is the world's single largest institutional fossil fuel consumer. (01:31) - War's Industrial Afterlife: Nylon, fertilizer, and freeways. (05:55) - Community action: from campus divestment campaigns to rethinking their everyday spending. (09:02) - A deep dive into military emissions, hidden history, and the case for diplomacy. (38:07) - Following the Money: How Big Oil lobbied to keep military emissions off the global books (44:18) - Your vote and your wallet are more powerful climate tools than you think. (46:10) - Community Classified: Citizens’ Climate Lobby 📱 Want to make your money count? Download the Commons app .🌎 Find citations and further reading in the full show notes.📞 Want to submit to the show? We'd love to hear from you!📷 Follow Second Nature on Instagram.Episode CreditsListener contributions: Braden Marazzo-Nowicki, Diana Holguin, Drew, Julia Nolasco, Fionaa Bhatia, Nicole CollinsResearch: Makenna McBriertyEditing and engineering: Evan GoodchildHosting and production: Katelan Cunningham
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War Has Always Been a Climate Issue
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