Movie: Scarred Lands; the Environmental Footprint of War

This is important for PSR advocates describing these underrated effects of war.

This 60 minute film recognizes our deep dependence on the natural world and how that is endangered by war.  Unprecedented falling water tables, shrinking forest cover, declining species diversity - all presage ecosystems in distress.  These trends are now widely acknowledged as emanating from forces of humanity's own making: massive population increases, unsustainable demands on natural resources, species loss, ruinous environmental practices. Ironically however, war, that most destructive of human behaviors, is commonly bypassed.

From production of weapons through combat to cleanup and restoration, war  pollutes land, air, and water, destroy biodiversity, and drains natural resources.   Yet the environmental damage occasioned by war and preparation for war is routinely underestimated, underreported, even ignored.   The environment remains war's "silent casualty."

Activities that do such damage cry out for far-reaching public scrutiny. The very sustainability of our planet is at stake. We can no longer maintain silence about the environmental impact of war on the grounds that such scrutiny is "inconvenient" or "callous" at a time when human life is so endangered.

If we cannot eliminate war, we can at least require a fuller accounting of war's costs and consequences, and demand that destructive forces used in our name leave a lighter footprint on this highly vulnerable planet. It is to this change in values and actions that this documentary film is directed.

Discussion will follow - For  more information: Lew Patrie 299-1242