Citizens of the United States:

Over the past twenty-four hours your military has seized control of the country's key centers of communication, transportation, commerce, and government.  This intervention was necessary to take emergency action on the environment and to initiate the economic and political restructuring required to prevent catastrophic ecological and social collapse.  Military control will be relinquished as soon as a qualified civilian group can assume responsibility for these critical tasks.  The political leaders of key countries have been informed of our actions and the reasons for taking them.

We recognize that, even as a temporary measure, military intervention is a drastic step that runs counter to America's values and traditions.  A fuller explanation is therefore in order.

The military's fundamental purpose is to protect our nation - that is, to safeguard the collective interests of the American people.  We have historically assumed that the country's leaders served these interests as well.  However, the complete absence of an effective response to the ecological crisis has made it clear that this assumption no longer holds.  There is a growing divergence between the interests of the people and the actions of their leaders.  The military has therefore been forced to choose, and it has chosen the people.

Our first step will be solar radiation management (SRM) to begin cooling our disastrously overheated planet.  Continued global warming would devastate the biosphere and doom the homeland.  SRM and related measures now have the same existential urgency as repelling a foreign invader from America's shores.

Once global cooling has been initiated, the military will begin to transform our economy so that it is fully sustainable.  This will entail a rapid shift from economic expansion to contraction as well as efficiency improvements that are unconstrained by the profit motive.  Large-scale efforts to repair environmental damage will commence as soon as possible.

America's foreign policy will be modified to encourage other countries to move in these directions.  Military expenditures for the defense of our nation will not be compromised as a result of these changes.

Business leaders are strongly encouraged to embrace the economic transformation and to play a constructive role in the new economy.  Your knowledge and experience are valued, and will be appropriately rewarded so long as your businesses fully comply with all environmental and social regulations.

Citizens must understand that the production of non-essential outputs will decline.  Goods and services that provide little objective benefit or that cause excessive environmental damage will be curtailed or eliminated.  Workers who are displaced by these adjustments will be financially supported until they are re-employed in a transformed labor market.

The above changes are far-reaching and will require extensive intellectual support.  This includes the development of a new economic theory, new economic institutions, and the legal infrastructure to manage a sustainable economy.  Funding for social research will be distributed accordingly.  Most scientific funding will be diverted to technical measures for solving the crisis.

Americans must understand that, although they are free to discuss these initiatives, public opposition and active resistance will not be tolerated.  Martial law, which is now in effect, will be strictly enforced to punish any offenders.

More information on these profound changes, and what they imply for citizens, businesses, and governments, will be distributed shortly.

We are confident that the American people will understand that the military is acting on their behalf, and that these exceptional measures are unavoidable at this late hour.