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ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTSENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
OF WARFAREOF WARFARE
Consumption of resourcesConsumption of resources
Toxic chemicalsToxic chemicals
Munitions dangersMunitions dangers
Nuclear contaminationNuclear contamination
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In the Cold War,In the Cold War,the U.S. and Soviet militaries rarelythe U.S. and Soviet militaries rarely
battled each other.battled each other.
Yet they killed thousands of theirYet they killed thousands of their
own soldiers and civilians throughown soldiers and civilians through
environmental contamination.environmental contamination.
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CONSUMPTIONCONSUMPTIONOF RESOURCESOF RESOURCES
Huge amounts of energy (8% in U.S.)
Large percentage of iron and
steel, and other metals
Nearly half of Peripherys debt
is from importing of arms
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Military spending
0 100 200 300 400
Iraq, Ira , i ya, yria, . Korea
i a
Italy
a i ra ia
Germa y
ra ce
Britai
Ja a
ssia
ite tates
ilitary s e i g( illio s of ollars)
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Our global priorities
0 100 200 300 400
La mi es
zo e e letio
Deforestatio
Glo al armi g
ci rai
lea ater
e e a le e ergy
oil erosio
ergy efficie cy
ilitary
ct al s e i g( illio s of ollars)
ee e s e i g( illio s of ollars)
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TOXICCHEMICALSTOXICCHEMICALS
Military toxic wastesMilitary toxic wastes
Agent OrangeAgent Orange
Chemical weapons useChemical weapons use
Chemical weapons disposalChemical weapons disposal
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Chemical weapons use
Iran, Iraq used gas in 1980-88 war;
Iraq gassed Kurdish minorityGas attacks in World WarI
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Chemical weapons use
Moscow
gas raid kills
121 hostages,
2002
Sarin attack in
Tokyo subway,
1995
U.S. experiments
on militarypersonnel and
civilians, 1950s-60s
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Agent Orange defoliant
20 million gallons
ofherbicides sprayed
in Vietnam War to deny
Cover to guerrillas
Also used by So.Africa
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Effects ofAgent Orange (dioxin)
Vietnamese civilians
and veterans
U.S.
veterans
Limited
compensation
to veterans for
cancers,
diabetes,
birth defects
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Chemical releases in Gulf War?
Bombing ofIraqi
biochemical sites, 1991
Detections of
chemicals in air
Moral responsibilties
of both sides?
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Chemical
BunkersIn Iraq
Detonation ofIraqichemical/biological storage
after end of Gulf War
Possible exposure to troops?
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Kuwait oil
well fires, 1991
Set by withdrawing
Iraqi forces; also
spilled oil intoPersian Gulf
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Draining of
southern Iraq
marshes, 1992
Area was haven for
Marsh
A
rabs,Sh
ia rebels
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Chemical
weapons
testing anddisposal
6000 sheep killed in
Utah nerve gas test, 1968Alabama protest against
chemical arms incineration
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Toxic wastes left on bases
U.S. military bases in
the Philippines,
Panama,Alaska
Soviet bases in
Eastern Europe
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BadgerArmyAmmunition Plant, Wisconsin
Propellant plant, 1940s-70s.
Groundwater poisoned with nitrates.
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Ironies of abandoned toxic bases
Rocky MountainArsenal in
Colorado was poisoned underground,
but the surface is a wildlife haven.
Many military
bases are Superfund
toxic clean-up sites.
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MUNITIONSMUNITIONS
Gulf WarSyndromeGulf WarSyndrome
Bombing rangesBombing ranges
Flight rangesFlight ranges
Land minesLand mines
Cluster bombsCluster bombs
Depleted UraniumDepleted Uranium
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Land mines
Old land mines explode every
22 minutes, claiming about
26,000 victims a year.
Su
dan Kosovo
Cambodia
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De-Mining
Operations1998 ban on
plastic land mines
Sch
oolyard inL
aos
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Cluster bombs
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Cluster bombs
Nis, Yugoslavia
market bombing,
1999
Bomblets
in Laos
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Depleted Uranium (DU)
Dense mu
nitions to penetratetanks, armor. Made from
low-level reprocessing waste.
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Depleted Uranium (DU)
Huge cancer rates in
southern Iraq (387 tons
of DU left behind) DU tested on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico.
Would cost $4 billion to clean Indiana base.
Releases radioactivity when
explodes or burns, leaves behind dust
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Depleted Uranium (DU)
DU also used in Bosnia,
Kosovo,Afghanistan82% of U.S combat troops in
Iraq came in contact with DU dustMetal of Dishonor video
www.konscious.com
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Gulf WarSyndrome
Agent Orange of the 1990s
A variety of illnesses
reported by military personnel
Increase in personnel cancers, 1991-97
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Gulf WarSyndrome
CAUSES?
Depleted Uranium?
Chemical releases?
Oil well fires?
Pesticides?
A combination?
Iraqi civilians
also affected:
leukemia victim
in Basra hospital.
Children of U.S. troops affected
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Vieques naval
bombing range,
Puerto Rico
Hiddenundetonated
explosives
Explosions,.noise, affect on fishing,
use of DU and chemical testing.
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Opposition to
Vieques bombing
Fishermen blockade Navy ships, 1970s
Christian camp after stray bomb
kills guard, 1999. Navy agrees
to gradual withdrawal.
Rallies in
San Juan and
New York
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Low-level jet flights
Practice for flying under radar.Effect on cattle, wildlife,
horses, human stress
riven out of Europe.
Went to Nevada, Canada, etc.
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Low-level flights
in Canada
InnuIndians
in Labrador protest
disruption of their
hunting culture
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NUCLEAR WEAPONSNUCLEAR WEAPONS
Production, Use,
Testing, WasteProd
uction, Use,
Testing, Waste
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Uranium mining
Began du
ringManhattan Project 1940s
Deaths of Navajo, Dene
uranium miners
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Nuclear weapons production cycle
Spent fuel from civilian energy industry can be used for bombs
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LosAlamos NuclearLabs, New Mexico
Fires in 2000 endangered
LosAlamos, Hanford
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Atomic bombing of Japan
220,000 died at
Hiroshima andNagasaki
280,000 more
exposed toRadiation
(Hibakusha)
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NuclearClub
Original: U.S., Russia, Britain, France, China
Spread since 1970s: Israel, India, Pakistan, possibly North Korea
Disarmed in 1990s: Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakstan, SouthAfrica
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Weapons-grade uranium stockpiles
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Atomic Veterans
andDownwinders
17,000 cancer cases
in the U.S. alone
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Nuclear fallout from
Nevada Test Site
Atmospheric nuclear
tests halted in 1963;
continued underground
Reassuring government leaflet
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Strontium-90 in milk
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U.S. tests in the Pacific
75% increase in cesium in islanders
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Evacuation ofIslanders
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Soviet tests
in Kazakhstan
Kazakhs protest
Genetic defects
nearSemey
(Semipalatinsk)
B i i h l
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British nuclear
tests inAustralia
Effects onAborigines
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French tests in Polynesia
French bombing of
Greenpeace ship in
New Zealand, 1985
Also inAlgeria in 1950s
Chi l i Xi ji
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Chinese nuclear tests in Xinjiang
In Muslim Uigur minority region after 1964
1996 Comprehensive
NuclearTest Ban signed;
but some small tests continue
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India and
Pakistan
nuclear tests
Indian leader in front
ofH-Bomb mural
Pakistani
crowds
celebrate
first test,
1998
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Military nuclear accidents
roken arrow
Lost nuclear weapons: 43+ Soviet, 7 U.S.
Plane crashes, sub sinkings, silo explosions
Some scattered radiation
Lost submarine reactors: 6 Soviet, 2 U.S.
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Nuclear plants as targets of war
Israel bombs Iraqs Osirak
reactor construction, 1981.
Iraq launches missile at
Israels Dimona nuclear
laboratory, 1991.
U.S. bombs Iraqi
operating reactors, 1991
Reactors as possible
terrorist targets?
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Kyshtym waste disaster,
1957
E
xplosion atS
oviet weapons factory forcesevacuation of over 10,000 people in Ural Mts.
Area size of Rhode Island still uninhabited;
thousands of cancers reported
Orphans
W b it
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Websites
Military Toxics Project
www.miltoxproj.orgCenter for Defense Information
www.cdi.org
Council for a Livable World
www.clw.org
U.S. military environmental agencies
http://aec.army.mil
http://enviro.navy.mil
http://www.af.mil/environment
Gulf War Veterans Resource Linkshttp://www.spidersmill.com/gwvrl
Chemical Weapons Working Group
www.cwwg.org