This was no ordinary movie-going experience. I was transfixed from the opening frame of Abby Martin’s recent film, “Earth’s Greatest Enemy.” It was clear from the start that we would encounter a script and visuals that were as riveting as they were overwhelming. It’s a long (just more than two hours) movie, and it tells a horrific story. I was unaware beforehand of many of the facts, figures, and details. As the film progressed, I felt a sense of devastation that things were this bad on a micro level.
Produced by Empire Films (empirefilms.tv), “Earth’s Greatest Enemy” tells a powerful and unforgettable story. This is the second feature film by this wife-and-husband team. It is a groundbreaking anti-imperialist environmental documentary. Because its message is uncompromising, there has been so much conflict that powerful U.S. institutions have hindered its wider distribution: it has been banned from film festivals and other forms of public expression.
More specifically, the film makes key points around the following issues:
- Global warming is a fact, and our military has been the greatest single institutional contributor for many decades, and it worsens each year.
- The degree of environmental degradation has impacted oceans, lakes, rivers, villages, cities, and national parks on and across all seven continents.
- Pollution due to products used by the U.S. military (e.g., Agent Orange) has caused damage to innumerable people, animals, birds, and fish everywhere.
- The U.S. military has plundered and pillaged globally, from tiny hamlets to large cities.
What “Earth’s Greatest Enemy” points to has direct and life-altering implications — and present-day realities — not only for human beings, but for all sentient beings in every corner of planet Earth. The film drives its points home through interviews, video scenarios of havoc being generated in the Earth’s waters, its material world, and the sky. The statistics have been painstakingly accrued through careful scientific research.
It is easy to become numb from the barrage of information this film offers. This was a discussion point each time the small group gathered at the Tilton Library in South Deerfield broke for a few minutes. One of the sponsors, a board member at the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice (www.traprock.org), stated that the movie has recently been broken into four equally timed segments to make it more palatable. Seeing it in its entirety left many of the film-going audience too exhausted to sit for a follow-up post-film dialogue.
At the same time, many of us decided that this had to become a clarion call for immediate action. The question for all is: With the situation of the imperialist activities of the U.S. military and other forces now becoming more unilateral and global than ever before, what can any one single individual do to counteract, minimize, or eliminate the horrid happenings of our government and military might that have become more deadly every year?
Sure, education and understanding the gravity of our military’s goings-on is an obvious first step — and an ongoing one. Beyond that, what’s next? No. 2, once viewed, either in any or all of its four segments or its entirety, we can spread the word to make sure friends, neighbors, and colleagues get to experience its message. Then what? After watching and sharing our responses/reactions, would you be compelled to stand out, go to meetings, write letters, and/or make a financial contribution (small or otherwise) to an organization that is doing something to combat these dismal realities? What are we each willing to do — and to risk — in trying to contribute to the greater good and the healthier continuation of all beings? These are the queries I headed home with, determined that at least this column would address the event, the horror, and the need not just to talk or write, but to do more…
The invasions, incursions, military build-ups, and environmental degradation being practiced (and sadly, increasingly perfected) by our country’s armed forces are well beyond what I had ever thought or learned about. For example, who of us knew that one of the top 10 military contractors in our country resides too nearby for comfort — L3Harris Technologies in Northampton? Since October 2023, L3Harris’ annual profits have risen about 10% per year to reach $21.87 billion in 2025. In addition, L3Harris’ net worth has doubled — from $31 billion to approximately $51.9 billion in 2026. In our own backyard, no less.
Further, L3Harris has made a killing (literally) abetting the genocide in Gaza by making components for Israeli precision missiles, fighter jets, warships, tanks, and fuses for tens of thousands of GBU-39 bombs, which the United States sells to Israel to inflict severe civilian casualties. Remnants of these weapons have been found at strikes on refugee camps — and that’s an international war crime. And this is but one of the too many facts put to us in “Earth’s Greatest Enemy.” This is where a disproportionate amount of our taxes is headed every year. I must add that the film states that both the government and the military hold zero accountability and take no responsibility for the cost and the damage done.
Over the past two decades, we have seen multiple media events sharing aspects of both the environmental and military maiming and killing of people, land, and all sentient species. This film puts all of this together and must be seen. The hope is that it is a pathway to direct and directed action to neutralize and defeat these governmental efforts.
Learn more by reaching out to Traprock, empirefilms.tv (rent the film for $2.99 and invite as many people as possible), and other local organizations. Write me (email address below) if you’d like a list of local resources and organizations that are doing something.
Daniel Cantor Yalowitz, Ed.D., writes a regular column for the Recorder. He is an intercultural and developmental psychologist and writes about issues focused on human and civil rights, human values, and his ongoing commitment to create a better world for us all. Reach out to him at danielcyalowitz@gmail.com.