A message from Timmon Wallis of the Warheads to Windmills Coalition

We are faced with twin existential threats, both rooted in corporate greed. Continued burning of fossil fuels will make this world uninhabitable within a few decades. A nuclear war would make this world uninhabitable in a few minutes. And yet neither Democrats nor Republicans seem capable of addressing these threats to the degree necessary to prevent unimaginable disaster.

A small number of very wealthy corporations spend millions of dollars on lobbying, elections and propaganda to maintain their control over Congress and the White House. In return, they get billions of dollars’ worth of profits from military contracts and petroleum-friendly policies.

These include fossil fuel companies like Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Phillips 66, Chevron, Energy Transfer and Koch Industries. They include nuclear weapons companies like General Dynamics, L3 Harris, Boeing, Huntington Ingalls, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin and RTX Raytheon.

These are the companies responsible for this country’s addiction to fossil fuels and nuclear weapons, and they alone can end it. How can we get their attention? They may have enormous power and influence, but they – and their investors – also care about their public image and their reputations. Boycotts, divestment and shaming are very effective tools we can use to pressure the profiteers. They’ve been used successfully before and it can happen again!

Currently, there are actions and events being planned around the world during the last two weeks of September. In the US, the Warheads to Windmills Coalition is calling on activists to target their nearest nuclear weapons and fossil fuel companies with protests, vigils, letters and social media blasts between September 16 and 29. So far, a number of actions are being planned at key plants and offices from California to Maine.

This is not the end of the work that must be done. The goal is to shame these corporations into action and to launch ongoing campaigns of divestment and boycotting. With over $14 trillion already being withheld from the fossil fuel industry and over $4 trillion from the nuclear weapons industry, divestment campaigns are already biting into the bottom lines of these companies. National consumer and institutional boycotts – ultimately aiming to get cities and states on board – can add significantly to this pressure.

To participate in person, see the maps at http://www.warheadstowindmills.org/events to locate your nearest nuclear weapons and/or fossil fuel companies and find events currently being planned at those locations.

To participate from home, you can use the template letters from that same website to send an email to the CEO of nuclear weapons and/or fossil fuel companies or leave a comment on their social media pages.

This is just a step along the way to a safer world. You can find other useful resources at www.warheadstowindmills.org for ongoing campaigns to get your local bank, school, faith community, hospital or town to divest and/or boycott nuclear weapons and fossil fuel companies.

As Bill McKibben and others have argued in relation to climate, divestment and pressure on these corporations is not just “a” way to effect the changes we need to see; it may be the only way to save the planet before it’s too late.