The unpublicized victim of war

“Though mankind has always counted its war casualties in terms of dead and wounded soldiers and civilians, destroyed cities and livelihoods, the environment has often remained the unpublicized victim of war.”  –United Nations

Tuesday November 6 is International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. First designated by the U.N. General Assembly in 2001, this day each year offers an opportunity to consider the many ways in which war and the environment are inextricably intertwined:

  • Armed conflict, as well as weapons production and testing, lead to environmental pollution and other forms of ecological devastation.
  • Wartime tactics include deliberately targeting ecosystems (e.g., draining marshland or burning cropland) to inflict pain on the opposition and gain military advantage.
  • Military use of fossil fuels is a prime contributor to climate change.
  • Conflicts over natural resources (e.g., oil, water and minerals) are leading causes of war.
  • Profits from the exploitation of natural resources are used to fund armed conflicts.
  • Prevention of war requires protection and stewardship of environmental resources.

Engaging Peace has explored many of these issues in previous posts:

  • The U.S. war in Iraq has left a trail of environmental devastation and adverse health impacts for survivors.  (For example, see post on Fallujah.)
  • The U.S. military is the single biggest contributor to global warming pollution. (See 2011 Earth Day post).
  • Resource extraction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo fuels rebellion and relies on child labor.
  • Nuclear war has the potential to annihilate entire populations of people and wildlife, poisoning their ecosystems for generations.
  • Efforts to unite the peace and environmental movements recognize that preventing war helps to preserve the environment–and vice versa.

A healthy ecosystem and access to natural resources are necessities for a peaceful world. Likewise, eliminating war would significantly impact the health of the planet.

How might your own peace activism embrace the goals of environmental activism?

Dr. Pat Daniel, Managing Editor of Engaging Peace

Contribute a peace of the pie

Mother’s Day is Sunday, and the Eighth Annual Mother’s Day National Action Day is tomorrow, Friday May 11.

Peacebuilding is 1% of U.S. budgetIn 1870, Julia Ward Howe, a Unitarian Universalist, launched a campaign to promote an annual Mother’s Day devoted not to candy and flowers but to disarmament. She placed her trust in mothers as peace activists.

The Peace Alliance recommends that on Mother’s Day National Action Day, women strive to make peace a piece of the pie. Check out their suggestions for what you can do to promote peace tomorrow and every day.

Do this on behalf of the child victims of war. Children are dying horrific deaths daily in many parts of the world, often from drone attacks launched by the United States, or from weapons bought from the US.  They lose their limbs and eyesight, as well as their families and neighbors. Children are forced to live as refugees from the wars that devastate their lands.

Mother’s Day is a good day to remember those children and to take action to stop the carnage.

Honor your mother, your grandmother, your wife, or your sister this Mother’s Day by joining the Mother’s Day National Action. Finally, please view a superb documentary on the aftereffects of war.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Militarization and the future of life (Earth Day, Part 2)

As we discussed in our Earth Day post, the environment is both a casualty and cause of war.  It’s time for the peace and environmental movements to join hands in solidarity. A number of organizations are working at the intersection of these important efforts.

Environment and security:Earth from space

Promoting environmental conservation as a means to peace:

Education for peace and environment:

Legal aspects of war and the environment:

Environmental and human health effects of war:

Anti-war activists can profit by understanding the causes and consequences of war from the perspective of ecological systems. Similarly, the sustainability movement will be well-served by acknowledging the profound effect that militarization has on the future of all life on earth.

Pat Daniel, Ph.D., Managing Editor of Engaging Peace

Earth Day during wartime (Part 1)

Sunday, April 22, is Earth Day. Today we honor the Earth by calling attention to the common goals of the peace and environmental sustainability movements.

But first, some context: Assessing the impact of war on the environment can be fraught with complexity, but here is a sampling of those effects:

It works the other way, too–that misuse, destruction, and scarcity of natural resources can be the cause of war.  Examples include conflicts over oil in the Middle East, rare metals in the Congo, food shortages and water scarcity in South Asia and throughout the world. More and more, climate disruption is becoming or is predicted (pdf) to be a source of conflict.

In other words, environmental degradation is a threat to global security.

As you celebrate Earth Day on Sunday, please consider what it will take to stop the intertwined scourges of warfare and environmental destruction. Even more important, make a commitment to do something about them.

Pat Daniel, Ph.D., Managing Editor of Engaging Peace