Winter 2021-22 Climate Corner: Ocean Warming and Glacial Retreat To Raise Coastal US Sea Level 1 Foot By 2050
Upcoming Events –
NOTE – The November 5th Chapter meeting will be ZOOM ONLY! due to the Presidential election.
Meetings are held the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, 4190 Front St., San Diego, CA 92103, Room 323. Also available via Zoom.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84477883828?pwd=O0GJm3xzMydMOKttjq2mzuXnQR0GaU.1
Meeting ID: 844 7788 3828
Passcode: 543552
Climate Change & Militarism
The twin evils of US Militarism and Climate Change are both existential threats to human survival. View our gallery of articles and videos.
Compassion Campaign
We are proud to announce that in July, 2024 the 5,600th sleeping bag set was given out to the homeless in downtown San Diego!
What is the National Veterans For Peace Organization?
Veterans For Peace (VFP) is a national organization founded in 1985. It is structured around a national office in Saint Louis, MO and comprised of members across the country organized in chapters or as at-large members. There is an annual convention in August for members from across the nation. Members receive periodic VFP publications.
The organization includes men and women veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, other conflicts and peacetime veterans. Our collective experience tells us wars are easy to start and hard to stop and that those hurt are often the innocent. Thus, other means of problem solving are necessary.
Veterans For Peace is an official Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) represented at the UN. Whether or not you wish to participate in chapter activities, please consider becoming a Veteran For Peace member. As an organization, we are what our members make us. You can be part of that effort either as an active local member, or as a member of the National Veterans for Peace.
Who is a Part of the San Diego Chapter?
We are a concerned group of patriotic veterans who feel compelled to speak out at this crucial time in our country’s history. While members of the American uniformed services, we were duty-bound and did not ask questions concerning our mission. Now, as discharged veterans and private citizens, we feel duty-bound to demand answers concerning the mission of our current service members, and to ensure that the sacrifices of American soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen are not taken lightly nor expended on frivolous endeavors.
As veterans with a range of experience and of military service, we act together to help educate our community about the American military culture and concerns. When you talk to one of our members, you know there is a passion and it is not something you will hear or read about in a glossy brochure.
It is without a doubt that our activism stems from a deep love of our country, but also with a connection to humanity. It is from this background that we have all come together in the San Diego area to join in one clear voice. We will work toward a world of peace and justice, and we will continue our commitment toward security, national and global, using nonviolent means. For more details please refer to the chapter’s by-laws.
Blog & News
Miramar Air Show = Entertainment(?) + Pollution!!
Dear Fellow San Diegans,
Heathrow Airport in London just hit an all-time high temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit and new heat records continue to soar across a sweltering Europe and Central Asia while wildfires burn out of control throughout the globe. Why, it’s even expected to hit 102 degrees in Portland, Oregon. As the visible effects of climate change resound throughout the earth, it becomes increasingly important that ALL of us do our part to responsibly reduce our carbon footprints. This is especially true in San Diego, since our oceans and our coasts are at high risk of damage by climate change.
San Diegans are asked to modify our behaviors to lessen our carbon usage; we must demand the same commitment from our institutions. Many local municipalities are revealing actions to help implement a meaningful Climate Action Plan to secure a Zero Carbon Future for their citizens. So far none of these plans address the military’s contribution TO the climate crisis!
San Diego is home to the nation’s largest concentration of active duty military personnel, as well as to a significant number of veterans. Since the US military is the single largest institutional user of petroleum products and the single largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, it is reasonable to posit that this outsized military presence contributes a disproportionately large percentage of the pollution in our County.
The Blue Angels, in their training and performances, use highly-polluting jet fuel in copious amounts that produce additional greenhouse gases to contaminate our environment. For example, based on figures provided by the Blue Angels, the Commanding Officer needs 3,000 flight training hours to qualify and the other 14 pilots 1,350 flight hours. The F/A-18 burns about 1,200 gallons of fuel per hour. That’s over 26 million gallons of jet fuel just to get the cast to the runway. Add another 20,000 gallons for the three-day show and the result is tons of greenhouse gases (and worse) emitted into the atmosphere. THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT!. At a time when we are asked to alter our behavior, how can we allow this optional weekend of pollution to occur?
The San Diego Veterans For Peace is once again planning to protest the Miramar Air Show and ask people to not attend. This action is called “No MAS”, meaning No Miramar Air Show, but also, in Spanish, No MAS means No More. Back in 2019 SD350, the Sunrise Movement, and others endorsed our actions and their members demonstrated with us during the September lead up to the event. Our focus this year will be “Air Show Fuels Climate Crisis” and we are asking climate and social justice organizations to endorse our actions and encourage their members to participate. We at Veterans For Peace believe the Blue Angels are a symbol of unchecked military pollution. We can’t afford it! Our planet cannot afford it!
We are all in this together. We are asked to modify our behavior; it’s time we demanded the same of our institutions.
Join us Thursdays, August 22 and 29, from 4 – 6 PM to banner on the I-15 overpass at Carroll Canyon Road. Also join us Thursdays, September 5, 12, 19 and 26. Contact Dave Patterson, dpatterson998@yahoo.com for more information.
This year’s endorsers:
