On May 17, 2024, XRPDX targeted the initial (matinee) showing of the Blue Angels propaganda film at the Regal Lloyd Center IMAX theatre in Portland, Oregon. The film’s release in Portland was coordinated with the annual Hillsboro Air Show, where the Blue Angels regularly fly fighter jets in formation for entertainment as well as publicity and recruitment purposes.
It is time to boycott and cancel military airshows. Each Navy Blue Angel burns about 1,500 gallons of jet fuel per hour. With 6 jets in the air, that’s 68,000 total gallons for a weekend show — a tremendous waste of resources and taxpayer dollars — just for military recruitment and propaganda. The Blue Angels’ pollution and fossil fuel consumption should concern everyone. Each airshow adds 650 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. Air-splitting noise triggers veterans and war refugees with PTSD, and the exhaust causes cancer and harms heart and lungs.
Citizens must call for cuts to U.S. military spending! War causes horrific destruction, the loss of life, and leads to the destruction of ecosystems and the release of vast amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. military is the world’s largest institutional source of fossil fuel emissions. The U.S. military budget is bigger than the military budgets of the next 11 countries combined – including Russia and China. This funding could be better used if redirected toward fighting climate change, rather than other people.
