Gar Smith - The War and Environment Reader

Praise for

The War and Environment Reader

Human intelligence, in its unique glory, has contrived two mechanisms to destroy us and much else: nuclear weapons and environmental catastrophe, closely linked. It has yet to contrive the cure for the lethal malady, a task that must be undertaken without delay. The essays collected here explore the depths and imminence of the crises, and outline directions that must be pursued, and urgently.

NOAM CHOMSKY

Institute Professor & Professor of Linguistics emeritus, MIT

We dont really know the true horrors of warthe deep psychological, physical, economical, and environmental damages and scars that result from one groups actions to prepare and wage violence against someone else. This Reader offers the most diverse set of voices ever collected together to try to describe those horrors, including essays written over many years about the often-unseen consequences of our actions. Read these stories in the hopes that future ones need never be written.

PETER GLEICK

environmental scientist, communicator

The War and Environment Reader is packed with powerful writings, from classics by Margaret Mead to recent investigations of drone strikes, about why war happens, how it affects us, and how we can stop it. Everyone who cares about humanitys most urgent problemin other words, everyoneshould read this book.

JOHN HORGAN

science journalist and author, The End of War

Anyone who studies environmentalism learns about climate change, biodiversity loss, and hazardous chemical pollution; but too often a major environmental threat is overlooked: war. Both caused by, and contributing to, environmental harm, war undermines our chance to live sustainably on this beautiful planet. Gar Smiths War and Environment Reader is a gift to our movement; it is a powerful collection of voices exploring war from many perspectives, and calling for a green and peaceful way forward. Please read this book and join the call!

ANNIE LEONARD

Executive Director, Greenpeace US; author The Story of Stuff

Even if war were moral, legal, defensive, beneficial to the spread of freedom, and inexpensive, we would be obliged to make abolishing it our top priority solely because of the case laid out so powerfully in this book: war is destroying this planet.

DAVID SWANSON

Director, World Beyond War; author, War Is a Lie

This anthology is a much-needed volume of essays on the negative impact that the militarization of our world has on our planeton the humans, animals, plants, oceans, lands, and air. The question is sometimes asked: what is war good for? And the answer from millions of people is: Absolutely nothing!

ANN WRIGHT

former colonel, U.S. Army; former diplomat; antiwar activist

Just World Books exists to expand the discourse in the United States and worldwide on issues of vital international concern. We are committed to building a more just, equitable, and peaceable world. We uphold the equality of all human persons. We aim for our books to contribute to increasing understanding across national, religious, ethnic, and racial lines; to share more broadly the reflections, analyses, and policy prescriptions of pathbreaking activists for peace; and to help to prevent war.

To learn about our existing and upcoming titles or to buy our books, visit our website:

www.JustWorldBooks.com

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Our recent titles include:

• Inside the Battle of Algiers: Memoir of a Woman Freedom Fighter, by Zohra Drif
• Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbis Path to Palestinian Solidarity, by Brant Rosen
• White And Black: Political Cartoons from Palestine, by Mohammad Sabaaneh
• No Country for Jewish Liberals, by Larry Derfner
• Condition Critical: Life and Death in Israel/Palestine, by Alice Rothchild
• The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, by Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt
• Lens on Syria: A Photographic Tour of its Ancient and Modern Culture, by Daniel Demeter
• Never Can I Write of Damascus: When Syria Became Our Home, by Theresa Kubasak and Gabe Huck

Just World Books is an imprint of Just World Publishing, LLC

This compilation and all texts by Gar Smith: Copyright 2017 Gar Smith.

Publication details and permissions for all other materials: as listed on

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except brief passages for review purposes. Visit our website, www.justworldbooks.com.

Development editing: Brian Baughan

Project management and proofreading: Marissa Wold Uhrina

Typesetting: PerfecType, Nashville, TN

Cover design: theBookDesigners

Publishers Cataloging-In-Publication Data

(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)

Names: Smith, Gar, editor.

Title: The war and environment reader / Gar Smith, editor.

Description: Charlottesville, Virginia : Just World Books, [2017]

Identifiers: LCCN 2017934406 | ISBN 978-1-68257-079-1 | ISBN 978-1-68257-080-7 (ePub) | ISBN 978-1-68257-081-4 (mobi) | ISBN 978-1-68257-082-1 (PDF)

Subjects: LCSH: WarEnvironmental aspects. | WarEconomic aspects. | Military weaponsEnvironmental aspects. | Environmental degradationSocial aspects.

Classification: LCC TD195.W29 W37 2017 (print) | LCC TD195.W29 (ebook) | DDC 577.274dc23

To our despoiled and damaged world, to the innocent victims of war, to the thousands of activists killed in the nonviolent struggle to defend Planet Earth; to Dave Brower, who witnessed war and defended nature, and to Doug Tompkins, who saw the need for this book.

Oilfields burning in Kuwait, 1991. W ILLIAM T HOMAS PHOTO. C OPYRIGHT 1991 .