The True Cost of the Military-Industrial Complex

• This video is about the environmental impacts caused by the United States military-industrial complex.
• Students will learn about the environmental and social hazards of a bloated military.
• The video concludes that demilitarization is the only sustainable option and that war is always an environmental hazard.

Positives

• The video discusses the environmental impacts of war, including chemical waste and emissions caused by fuel for machines of war.
• It includes an analysis of imperialism and potential justifications for war.
• The video description contains links to other resources for further reading.

Additional Prerequisites

• The video begins with an ad.
• The video's content ends at 8:20 and is followed by a sponsored ad.
• The video concludes that military decisions prioritize profit and control over peace and safety, which may be sensitive topics for students with family members who served in the military.
  

Differentiation

• History classes could review the military conflicts mentioned in the video, including Panama (1989), Chile (1973), East Timor (1975), and Iraq (2003).
• Students could write alternative budget proposals that divert money away from the military and toward environmentally and socially focused policies.
• A resource related to this topic is this video on the way that the United States' greed for oil contributes to climate change.