Review by Melissa

Earth’s Greatest Enemy (2026)Directed by Abby Martin & Mike Prysner.

I was captivated by this artfully made documentary which proclaims that the U.S. military is a hidden driver of the climate crisis — the world’s largest institutional polluter. This film is the product of a five-year journey that took Martin and Prysner from defense contractor conferences and international climate gatherings to the RIPAC (Rim of the Pacific) military exercises and the fight against a base construction in Okinawa that would destroy its unique Oura Bay which has one of the world’s most diverse ecosystems. The documentary draws on testimonies from veterans, scientists, and frontline communities to show how military operations poison the environment, accelerate global warming, and contaminate bases across the U.S. and worldwide. The film’s strongest material is granular and verifiable — for instance, that the U.S. military uses an average of 270,000 barrels of oil per day and produces more carbon emissions annually than over 140 countries, while being exempt from international climate agreements. Prysner’s background as an Iraq veteran who turned anti-war activist gives the film moral credibility when addressing service members, some of whom share heartbreaking stories of their experiences.

One criticism is that so much more could have been documented about the ongoing damage being done by the United States military. Overall it is a well-made, urgent film that fills a genuine gap — the mainstream climate conversation rarely names the Pentagon as a structural obstacle. Whether it bridges the anti-war and environmentalist movements, as Martin hopes, remains to be seen, but it makes the case compellingly that those movements need each other.