Chain Reaction is the journal for Friends of the Earth Australia.
The August 2016 edition had the following two articles written in the Far North by FoE FNQ president John Glue and Margaret Pestorius.
Will militarism block the climate change movement?
by Margie Pestorius
Militarism and climate change are closely linked and joining anti-militarism to the climate justice discourse is an important move that was visible during the UN COP21 climate conference last December. It is becoming evident that militarism will block the goals of the climate change movement if these links are not addressed.
Militarism is defined as: "The belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests."
A recent inquiry of climate justice activists and academics in Melbourne threw up the following connections.
Sacrificing the Reef with militarism, mining, censorship and tokenism
by John Glue
At the start of the election campaign Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt visited Cairns to re-announce $50 million in new projects to boost water quality, including efforts to keep sediment, fertilisers and pesticides off the Great Barrier Reef. This re-announcement was partly to allay concerns over research showing 93% of the Reef had been bleached and dire predictions that the Reef will be terminal in as little as 5 to 20 years.