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 The
Issue
To instill a culture of peace instead of
a culture of war. The focus is on how
war and violence exacerbates climate
change and then connect peace activists
with environmentalists to alert the
world of the impact of war on climate
change.
Main themes
Right to use environmental resources
causes conflict Conflict exacerbates
poverty and causes environmental damage.
The two combine creating a cyclical
effect leading to further conflict.
(2)
BACKGROUND
War is a major cause of man's
destruction of life. The military
industry including weapons development
and use leads to a culture of violence
and war. Global militarism is a hard
mindset to change because of the widely
accepted concepts that violence is power
leading to domination over others and
nature.
The Earth stands today in imminent peril
and major changes are cried for! Real
security and international cooperation,
so necessary for achieving freedom from
weapons of mass destruction are a must
in
today's world if we are to survive.
It is time to bridge the divide between
the peace movement and the climate
change movement. We must acknowledge the
ways in which these issues are linked.
People throughout the world need to take
action to
end war, global warming, and
environmental degradation.
Acknowledgement that oil is the critical
link between war and climate change. One
can see this evidenced in the countries
that are engaged in conflicts and/or
have large military establishments. The
US Military is the largest single
consumer of petroleum. Thus, as the
military grows so does our addiction to
fossil fuel. Oil consumption by USA
military forces accounted for 133
million barrels in 2005, more than their
total consumption of oil in countries
such as Sweden or Finland. So one might
ask, "Where does the responsibility
lie?"
It is clear that climate change could
increase the risk of conflict which
military forces will have to confront.
Water shortages will increase with
rising temperature and living in water
"stressed" areas will bring about mass
migration and conflict over those
resources. Key changes are needed now
not later.
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Judy Lerner, Peace Action,