Africa
“My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
For the love of God and our human rights
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can't deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars” – Guns ‘n Roses (Civil
War)
In Africa many civil wars and wars between countries occurred in
the past century, some of which are still continuing. Most wars are a
result of the liberation of countries after decades of colonialization.
Countries fight over artificial borders drawn by former colonial rulers.
Wars mainly occur in densely populated regions, over the division of scarce
resources such as fertile farmland. It is very hard to estimate the exact
environmental impact of each of these wars. Here, a summary of some of
the most striking environmental effects, including biodiversity loss,
famine, sanitation problems at refugee camps and over fishing is given
for different countries.
 Congo
war (II) – Since August 1998 a civil war is fought in former Zaire,
now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The war eventually
ended in 2003 when a Transitional Government took power. A number of reasons
are given for the conflict, including access and control of water resources
and rich minerals and political agendas. Currently over 3 million people
have died in the war, mostly from disease and starvation. More than 2
million people have become refugees. Only 45% of the people had access
to safe drinking water. Many women were raped as a tool of intimidation,
resulting in a rapid spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV-AIDS.
The war has a devastating effect on the environment. National parks housing
endangered species are often affected for exploitation of minerals and
other resources. Refugees hunt wildlife for bush meat, either to consume
or sell it. Elephant populations in Africa have seriously declined as
a result of ivory poaching. Farmers burn parts of the forest to
apply as farmland, and corporate logging contributes to the access of
poachers to bush meat. A survey by the WWF showed that the hippopotamus
population in one national park decreased from 29,000 thirty years previously,
to only 900 in 2005. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) listed all five parks as ‘world heritage in danger’.
Ethiopia & Eritrea – Before 1952, Eritrea
was a colony of Italy. When it was liberated, Ethiopia annexed the country.
Thirty years of war over the liberation of Eritrea followed, starting
in 1961 and eventually ending with the independence of Eritrea in 1993.
However, war commenced a year after the country introduced its own currency
in 1997. Over a minor border dispute, differences in ethnicity and economic
progress, Ethiopia again attacked Eritrea. The war lasted until June 2000
and resulted in the death of over 150,000 Eritrean, and of hundreds of
thousands of Ethiopians. During the war severe drought resulted in famine,
particularly because most government funds were spend on weapons and other
war instrumentation. The government estimated that after the war only
60% of the country received adequate food supplies. The war resulted in
over 750,000 refugees. It basically destroyed the entire infrastructure.
Efforts to disrupt agricultural production in Eritrea resulted in changes
in habitat. The placing of landmines has caused farming or herding to
be very dangerous in most parts of the country. If floods occur landmines
may be washed into cities. This has occurred earlier in Mozambique.
 Rwanda
civil war - Between April and July 1994 extremist military Hutu groups
murdered about 80,000-1,000,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda. Over
2,000,000 people lost their homes and became refugees. Rwanda has a very
rich environment, however, it has a particularly limited resource base.
About 95% of the population lives on the countryside and relies on agriculture.
Some scientists believe that competition for scarce land and resources
led to violence prior to and particularly after the 1994 genocide. It
is however stated that resource scarcity only contributed limitedly to
the conflict under discussion. The main cause of the genocide was the
death of the president from a plane-crash caused by missiles fires from
a camp.
The many refugees from the 1994 combat caused a biodiversity problem.
When they returned to the already overpopulated country after the war,
they inhabited forest reserves in the mountains where endangered gorillas
lived. Conservation of gorilla populations was no longer effective, and
refuges destroyed part of the habitat. Despite the difficulties still
present in Rwanda particularly concerning security and resource provision,
an international gorilla protection group is now working on better conditions
for the gorillas in Rwanda. Somalia
civil war – A civil war was fought in Somalia 1991. One of the most
striking effects of the war was over fishing. The International Red
Cross was encouraging the consumption of seawater fish to improve diets
of civilians. For self-sufficiency they provided training and fishing
equipment. However, as a consequence of war Somali people ignored international
fishing protocols, thereby seriously harming ecology in the region.
Fishing soon became an unsustainable practise, and fishermen are hard
to stop because they started carrying arms. They perceive over fishing
as a property right and can therefore hardly be stopped.
 Sudan (Darfur & Chad)
– In Sudan civil war and extreme droughts caused a widespread famine,
beginning in 1983. Productive farmland in the southern region was abandoned
during the war. Thousands of people became refugees that left
behind their land, possibly never to return. Attempts of remaining farmers
to cultivate new land to grow crops despite the drought led to desertification
and soil erosion. The government failed to act for fear of losing its
administrative image abroad, causing the famine to kill an estimated
95,000 of the total 3,1 million residents of the province Darfur. As
farmers started claiming more and more land, routes applied by herders
were closed off. This resulted in conflicts between farmers and rebels
groups. In 2003, a conflict was fought in Darfur between Arab
Sudanese farmers and non-Arab Muslims. The Muslim group is called Janjaweed,
a tribe mainly consisting of nomadic sheep and cattle herders. Originally
the Janjaweed were part of the Sudanese and Darfurian militia, and were
armed by the Sudanese government to counter rebellion. However, they
started utilizing the weapons against non-Muslim civilians. The tribe
became notorious for massacre in 2003-2004. In December 2005 the conflict
continued across the border, now involving governmental army troops
from Chad, and the rebel groups Janjaweed and United Front for Democratic
Change from Sudan. In February 2006 the governments of Chad and Sudan
signed a peace treaty called the Tripoli Agreement. Unfortunately a
new rebel assault of the capital of Chad in April made Chad break all
ties with Sudan. The Darfur Conflict so far caused the death of between
50,000 and 450,000 civilians. It caused over 45,000 people to flea the
countries of Sudan and Central Africa, into north and east Chad. Most
refugees claim they fled civilian attacks from rebel forces, looting
food and recruiting young men to join their troops.
America
Pearl Harbor (WWII)
– When World War II began, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi
Germany and Fascist Italy. Consequentially, the United States closed
the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping, and initiated a complete oil
embargo. Japan, being dependent on US oil, responded to the embargo
violently. On December 1941, Japanese troops carried out a surprise
attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, aimed at the US Navy stationed there.
Despite the awareness that Japan might attack, the US was surprisingly
unprepared for the Japanese aggression. There were no aircraft patrols,
and anti-aircraft weapons were not manned.
 For
the attack five Japanese submarines were present in the harbor to launch
torpedos. One was discovered immediately, and attacked by the USS Ward.
All five submarines sank, and at least three of them have not been located
since. As Japanese bombers arrived they began firing at US marine airbases
across Hawaii, and subsequently battle ships in Pearl Harbor. Eighteen
ships sank, including five battleships, and a total of more than 2,000
Americans were killed in action. The explosion of the USS Arizona
caused half of the casualties. The ship was hit by a bomb, burned for
two days in a row, and subsequently sank to the bottom. The cloud of
black smoke over the boat was mainly caused by burning black powder
from the magazine for aircraft catapults aboard the ship.
Leaking fuel from the Arizona and other ships caught fire, and caused
more ships to catch fire. Of the 350 Japanese planes taking part in
the attack, 29 were lost. Over sixty Japanese were killed in actions,
most of them airmen.
Today, three battle ships are still at the bottom of the harbor. Four
others were raised and reused. The USS Arizona, being the most heavily
damaged ship during the attack, continues to leak oil from the hulk
into the harbor. However, the wreck is maintained, because it now serves
as part of a war memorial.
World Trade Centre explosion - The so-called ‘War on Terrorism’ the United States are fighting in Asia
currently all started with the event we recall so well from the shocking
images projected on news bulletins. On September 11, 2001, terrorists
flew airplanes into the buildings of the World Trade Centre. It is now
claimed that the attack and simultaneous collapse of the Twin Towers
caused a serious and acute environmental
disaster.
"We will live in
the death smog for a while,
breathing the dust of the dead,
the 3 thousand or so who turn to smoke,
as the giant ashtray in Lower Manhattan
continues to give up ghosts.
The dead are in us now,
locked in our chests,
staining our lungs,
polluting our bloodstreams.
And though we cover our faces with flags
and other pieces of cloth to filter the air,
the spirits of the dead aren’t fooled
by our masks." Lawrence Swan, 05-10-2001
As the planes hit the Twin Towers more than 90.000 litres of jet fuel
burned at temperatures above 1000oC. An atmospheric plume formed,
consisting of toxic materials such as metals, furans, asbestos, dioxins,
PAH, PCB and hydrochloric acid. Most of the materials were fibres from
the structure of the building. Asbestos levels ranged from 0.8-3.0%
of the total mass. PAH comprised more than 0.1% of the total mass, and
PCBs less than 0.001% of total mass. At the site now called Ground Zero,
a large pile of smoking rubble burned intermittently for more than 3
months. Gaseous and particulate particles kept forming long after the
towers had collapsed.
Aerial photograph of the plume
The day of the attacks dust particles of various
sizes spread over lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, for many miles. Fire
fighters and medics working at the WTC were exposed, but also men and
women on the streets and in nearby buildings, and children in nearby
schools. In vivo inhalation studies and epidemiological studies pointed
out the impact of the dust cloud. Health effects from inhaling dust
included bronchial hyper reactivity, because of the high alkalinity
of dust particles. Other possible health effects include coughs, an
increased risk of asthma and a two-fold increase in the number of small-for-gestational-age
baby’s among pregnant women present in or nearby the Twin Towers at
the time of the attack. After September, airborne pollutant concentrations
in nearby communities declined.
Many people present at the WTC at the time of the attacks are still
checked regularly, because long-term effects may eventually show. It
is thought there may be an increased risk of development of mesothelioma,
consequential to exposure to asbestos. This is a disease where malignant
cells develop in the protective cover of the body’s organs. Airborne
dioxins in the days and weeks after the attack may increase the risk
of cancer and diabetes. Infants of women that were pregnant on September
11 and had been in the vicinity of the WTC at the time of the attack
are also checked for growth or developmental problems.
Asia
Afghanistan war – In October 2001, the
United States attacked Afghanistan as a starting chapter of the ‘War
on terrorism’, which still continues today. The ultimate goal was to
replace the Taliban government, and to find apparent 9/11 mastermind
and Al-Qaeda member Osama Bin Laden. Many European countries
assisted the US in what was called ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’.
 During
the war, extensive damage was done to the environment, and many people
suffered health effects from weapons applied to destroy enemy targets.
It is estimated that ten thousand villages, and their surrounding environments
were destroyed. Safe drinking water declined, because of a destruction
of water infrastructure and resulting leaks, bacterial contamination
and water theft. Rivers and groundwater were contaminated by poorly
constructed landfills located near the sources.
Afghanistan once consisted of major forests watered by monsoons. During
the war, Taliban members illegally trading timber in Pakistan destroyed
much of the forest cover. US bombings and refugees in need of firewood
destroyed much of what remained. Less than 2% of the country still contains
a forest cover today.
Bombs threaten much of the country’s wildlife. One the world’s important
migratory thoroughfare leads through Afghanistan. The number of birds
now flying this route has dropped by 85%. In the mountains many large
animals such as leopards found refuge, but much of the habitat is applied
as refuge for military forces now. Additionally, refugees capture leopards
and other large animals are and trade them for safe passage across the
border.
Pollution from application of explosives entered air, soil and water.
One example is cyclonite, a toxic substance that may cause cancer. Rocket
propellants deposited perchlorates, which damage the thyroid gland.
Numerous landmines left behind in Afghan soils still cause the deaths
of men, women and children today.
Cambodia civil war – In 1966 the
Prince of Cambodia began to lose the faith of many for failure to come
to grips with the deteriorating economic situation. In 1967 rebellion
started in a wealthy province where many large landowners lives. Villagers
began attacking the tax collection brigade, because taxes were invested
in building large factories, causing land to be taken. This led to a
bloody civil war. Before the conflict could be repressed 10,000 people
had died.
 The
rebellion caused the up rise of the Khmer Rouge, a Maoist-extremist
organization that wanted to introduce communism in the country. In 1975
the organization, led by Pol Pot, officially seized power in Cambodia.
The Khmer considered farmers (proletarians) to be the working class,
as did Mao in China earlier. Schools, hospitals and banks were closed,
the country was isolated from all foreign influence, and people were
moved to the countryside for forced labor. People were obligated to
work up to 12 hours a day, growing three times as many crops, as was
usually the case. Many people died there from exhaustion, illness and
starvation, or where shot by the Khmer on what was known as ‘The Killing
Fields’.
The Khmer Rouge regime resulted in deforestation, caused by extensive
timber logging to finance war efforts, agricultural clearance, construction,
logging concessions and collection of wood fuels. A total 35% of the
Cambodian forest cover was lost under the Maoist regime. Deforestation
resulted in severe floods, damaging rice crops and causing food shortages.
In 1993, a ban on logging exports was introduced to prevent further
flooding damage.
In 1979 the Khmer Rouge regime ended with an invasion by Vietnam, and
the installation of a pro-Vietnamese puppet government. Subsequently,
Thai and Chinese forces attempted to liberate the country from Vietnamese
dominance. Many landmines were placed in the 1980’s, and are still present
in the countryside. They deny agricultural use of the land where they
are placed. In 1992 free elections were introduced, but the Khmer Rouge
resumed fighting. Eventually, half of the Khmer soldiers left in 1996,
and many officials were captured. Under the Khmer regime, a total of
1.7 million people died, and the Khmer was directly responsible for
about 750,000 of those casualties.
Hiroshima & Nagasaki nuclear explosions
– Atomic bombs are based on the principle of nuclear fission, which
was discovered in Nazi Germany in 1938 by two radio chemists. During
the process, atoms are split and energy is released in the form of heat.
Controlled reactions are applied in nuclear power plants for production
of electricity, whereas unchecked reactions occur during nuclear bombings.
The invention in Germany alarmed people in the United States, because
the Nazi’s in possession of atomics bombs would be much more dangerous
than they already where. When America became involved in WWII, the development
of atomic bombs started there in what was called the ‘Manhattan Project’.
In July 1945 an atomic bomb was tested in the New Mexico desert. The
tests were considered a success, and America was now in possession of
one of the world’s deadliest weapons.
In 1945, at the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War,
nuclear weapons were applied to kill for the first time in Japan. On
August 6, a uranium bomb by the name of Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima,
followed by a plutonium bomb by the name of Fat Man on Nagasaki on August
9. The reason Hiroshima was picked was that it was a major military
centre. The bomb detonated at 8.15 p.m. over a Japanese Army parade
field, where soldiers were already present. Nagasaki was picked because
it was an industrial centre. The bomb, which was much larger than that
used on Hiroshima, exploded at 11.02 a.m. at an industrial site. However,
the hills on and the geographical location of the bombing site caused
the eventual impact to be smaller than days earlier in Hiroshima.
 The
first impact of the atomic bombings was a blinding light, accompanied
by a giant wave of heat. Dry flammable materials caught fire, and all
men and animals within half a mile from the explosion sites died instantly.
Many structures collapsed, in Nagasaki even the structures designed
to survive earthquakes were blasted away. Many water lines broke. Fires
could not be extinguished because of the water shortage, and six weeks
after the blast the city still suffered from a lack of water. In Hiroshima
a number of small fires combined with wind formed a firestorm, killing
those who did not die before but were left immobile for some reason.
Within days after the blasts, radiation sickness started rearing its
ugly head, and many more people would die from it within the next 5
years.
The total estimated death toll:
In Hiroshima 100,000 were killed instantly, and between 100,000 and 200,000
died eventually.
In Nagasaki about 40,000 were killed instantly, and between 70,000 and
150,000 died eventually.
The events of August 6 and August 9 can be translated into environmental
effects more literally. The blasts caused air pollution from dust particles
and radioactive debris flying around, and from the fires burning everywhere.
Many plants and animals were killed in the blast, or died moments to
months later from radioactive precipitation. Radioactive sand clogged wells used for drinking water winning, thereby causing a drinking water
problem that could not easily be solved. Surface water sources were
polluted, particularly by radioactive waste. Agricultural production
was damaged; dead stalks of rice could be found up to seven miles from
ground zero. In Hiroshima the impact of the bombing was noticeable within
a 10 km radius around the city, and in Nagasaki within a 1 km radius.
Iraq & Kuwait – The Gulf War
was fought between Iraq, Kuwait and a number of western countries in
1991. Kuwait had been part of Iraq in the past, but was liberated by
British imperialism, as the Iraqi government described it. In August
1990, Iraqi forces claimed that the country was illegally extracting
oil from Iraqi territory, and attacked. The United Nations attempted
to liberate Kuwait. Starting January 1991, Operation Desert Storm began,
with the purpose of destroying Iraqi air force and anti-aircraft facilities,
and command and control facilities. The battle was fought in Iraq, Kuwait
and the Saudi-Arabian border region. Both aerial and ground artillery
was applied. Late January, Iraqi aircraft were flown to Iran, and Iraqi
forces began to flee.
The Gulf War was one of the most environmentally devastating wars ever
fought. Iraq dumped approximately one million tons of crude oil into
the Persian Gulf, thereby causing the largest oil spill in history (see
environmental disasters). Approximately 25,000 migratory birds
were killed. The impact on marine life was not as severe as expected,
because warm water sped up the natural breakdown of oil. Local prawn
fisheries did experience problems after the war. Crude oil was also
spilled into the desert, forming oil lakes covering 50 square kilometres.
In due time the oil percolated into groundwater aquifers.
 Fleeing
Iraqi troops ignited Kuwaiti oil sources, releasing half
a ton of air pollutants into the atmosphere. Environmental problems
caused by the oil fires include smog formation and
acid rain. Toxic
fumes originating from the burning oil wells compromised human health,
and threatened wildlife. A soot layer was deposited on the desert, covering
plants, and thereby preventing them from breathing. Seawater was applied
to extinguish the oil fires, resulting in increased salinity in areas
close to oil wells. It took about nine months to extinguish the fires.
During the war, many dams and sewage water treatment plants were targeted
and destroyed. A lack of possibilities for water treatment resulting
from the attacks caused sewage to flow directly into the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers. Additionally, pollutants seeped from bombed chemical
plants into the rivers. Drinking water extracted from the river was
polluted, resulting in widespread disease. For example, cases of typhoid
fever have increased tenfold since 1991.
Movement of heavy machinery such as tanks through the desert damaged
the brittle surface, causing soil erosion. Sand was uncovered that formed
gradually moving sand dunes. These dunes may one day cause problems
for Kuwait City. Tanks fired Depleted Uranium (DU) missiles, which can
puncture heavy artillery structures. DU is a heavy metal that causes
kidney damage and is suspected to be teratogenic and carcinogenic. Post-Gulf
War reports state an increase in birth defects for children born to
veterans. The impact of Depleted Uranium could not be thoroughly investigated
after the Gulf War, because Saddam Hussein refused to cooperate. Its
true properties were revealed after the Kosovo War in 2001 (description
below). DU has now been identified as a neurotoxin, and birth defects
and cancers are attributed to other chemical and nerve agents. However,
it is stated that DU oxides deposited in the lungs of veterans have
not been thoroughly researched yet. It was later found that this may
cause kidney and lung infections for highly exposed persons.
After the Gulf War many veterans suffered from a condition now known
as the Gulf War Syndrome. The causes of the illness are subject to widespread
speculation. Examples of possible causes are exposure to DU (see above),
chemical weapons (nerve gas and mustard gas), an anthrax vaccine given
to 41% of US soldiers and 60-75% of UK soldiers, smoke from burning
oil wells and parasites. Symptoms of the GWS included chronic fatigue,
muscle problems, diarrhoea, migraine, memory loss, skin problems and
shortness of breath. Many Gulf War veterans have died of illnesses such
as brain cancer, now acknowledged as potentially connected to service
during the war.
Iraq & the United States – The war
in Iraq started by the United States in 2003 as part of the War on Terrorism
causes poverty, resulting in environmental problems. Long-term environmental
effects of the war remain unclear, but short-term problems have been
identified for every environmental compartment. For example, some
weapons are applied that may be extremely damaging to the environment,
such as white phosphorus ammunition. People around the world protest the
application of such armoury.
Water
 Damage
to sanitation structures by frequent bombing, and damage to sewage
treatment systems by power blackouts cause pollution of the River Tigris.
Two hundred blue plastic containers containing uranium were stolen from
a nuclear power plant located south of Baghdad. The radioactive content
of the barrels was dumped in rivers and the barrels were rinsed out.
Poor people applied the containers as storage facility for water, oil
and tomatoes, or sold them to others. Milk was transported to other
regions in the barrels, making it almost impossible to relocate them.
Air
Oil trenches are burning, as was the case in the Gulf War of 1991, resulting
in air pollution. In Northern Iraq, a sulphur plant burned for one month,
contributing to air pollution. As fires continue burning, groundwater
applied as a drinking water source may be polluted.
Soil
Military movements and weapon application result in land degradation.
The destruction of military and industrial machinery releases heavy
metals and other harmful substances. Read
more on restoring water
systems in Iraq
Israel & Lebanon – In July
2006, Hezbollah initiated a rocket attack on Israeli borders. A ground
patrol killed and captured Israeli soldiers. This resulted in open war
between Israel and Lebanon.
 The
war caused environmental problems as Israelis bombed a power station
south of Beirut. Damaged storage tanks leaked an estimated 20,000 tons
of oil into the Mediterranean Sea. The oil spill spread rapidly, covering
over 90 km of the coastline, killing fish and affecting the habitat
of the endangered green sea turtle. A sludge layer covers Beaches across
Lebanon, and the same problem may occur in Syria as the spill continues
to spread. Part of the oil spill burned, causing widespread air pollution.
Smog affects the health of people living in the city of Beirut. So far
problems limiting the clean-up operation of oil spills have occurred,
because of ongoing violence in the region.
Another major problem were forest fires in Northern Israel caused by
Hezbollah bombings. A total of 9,000 acres of forest burned to the ground,
and fires threaten tree reserves and bird sanctuaries.
Russia & Chechnya – In 1994
the First Chechen War of independence started, between Russian troops,
Chechen guerrilla fighters and civilians. Chechnya has been a province
of Russia for a very long time and now desires independence. The First
War ended in 1996, but in 1999 Russia again attacked Chechnya for purposes
of oil distribution.
The war between the country and its province continues today. It has
devastating effects on the region of Chechnya. An estimated 30% of Chechen
territory is contaminated, and 40% of the territory does not meet environmental
standards for life. Major environmental problems include radioactive
waste and radiation, oil leaks into the ground from bombarded plants
and refineries, and pollution of soil and surface water. Russia has
buried radioactive waste in Chechnya. Radiation at some sites is ten
times its normal level. Radiation risks increase as Russia bombs the
locations, particularly because after 1999 the severeness of weaponry
increased. A major part of agricultural land is polluted to the extent
that it can no longer meet food supplies. This was mainly caused by
unprofessional mini-refineries of oil poachers in their backyards, not
meeting official standards and causing over 50% of the product to be
lost as waste. Groundwater pollution flows into the rivers Sunzha and
Terek on a daily basis. On some locations the rivers are totally devoid
of fish. Flora and fauna are destroyed by oil leaks and bombings.
Vietnam war – The Vietnam War started
in 1945 and ended in 1975. It is now entitled a proxy war, fought during
the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union to prevent
the necessity for the nations to fight each other directly. North Vietnam
fought side by side with the Soviet Union and China, and South Vietnam
with the United States, New Zealand and South Korea. It must be noted
that the United States only started to be actively involved in the battle
after 1963. Between 1965 and 1968 North Vietnam was bombed under Operation
Rolling Thunder, in order to force the enemy to negotiate. Bombs destroyed
over two million acres of land. North Vietnam forces began to strike
back, and the Soviet Union delivered anti-aircraft missiles to North
Vietnam. The ground war of US troops against the Viet Cong began. The
United States would not retreat from Vietnam until 1973, and during
those years extremely environmentally damaging weapons and war tactics
were applied.
 A
massive herbicidal programme was carried out, in order to break
the forest cover sheltering Viet Cong guerrillas, and deprive Vietnamese
peasants of food. The spraying destroyed 14% of Vietnam’s forests,
diminished agricultural yield, and made seeds unfit for replanting.
If agricultural yield was not damaged by herbicides, it was often lost
because military on the ground set fire to haystacks, and soaked land
with aviation fuel en burned it. A total of 15,000 square kilometres
of land were eventually destroyed. Livestock was often shot, to deprive
peasant of their entire food supply. A total of 13,000 livestock were
killed during the war.
The application of 72 million litres of chemical spray resulted in the
death of many animals, and caused health effects with humans. One chemical
that was applied between 1962 and 1971, called Agent Orange, was particularly
harmful. Its main constituent is dioxin, which was present in soil,
water and vegetation during and after the war. Dioxin is carcinogenic
and teratogenic, and has resulted in spontaneous abortions, chloracne,
skin and lung cancers, lower intelligence and emotional problems among
children. Children fathered by men exposed to Agent Orange during the
Vietnam War often have congenital abnormalities. An estimated half a
million children were born with dioxin-related abnormalities. Agent
Orange continues to threaten the health of the Vietnamese today.
"Drafted to go to Vietnam
To fight communism in a foreign land.
To preserve democracy is my plight
Which is a God...Given...Right.
Greenery so thick with hidden enemies
Agent Orange is sprayed on the trees.
Covering me from head to toe
Irate my eyes, burns through my clothes.
Returned home when my tour was done
To be told "You have cancer, son".
Agent Orange is to blame
Government caused your suffering and pain.
Fight for compensation is frustrating and slow
Brass cover-up, not wanting anyone to know.
From cancer many comrades have died
Medical Insurance have been denied.
Compensation I now receive
My health I hope to retrieve.
In Vietnam , I was spared my life
Just to be stabbed with an Agent Orange knife" Yvonne Legge, 2001
Today, agriculture in Vietnam continues to suffer problems from six
million unexploded bombs still present. Several organisations are attempting
to remove these bombs. Landmines left in Vietnam are not removed, because
the Vietnamese government refuses to accept responsibility.
Europe
Kosovo war – The Kosovo war can be divided
up in two separate parts: a conflict between Serbia and Kosovo, and
a conflict between Kosovo and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO). The first conflict originated in 1996 from the statement of
Slobodan Milocevic that Kosovo was to remain a part of Serbia, and from
the resulting violent response of Albanian residents. When Serbian
troops slaughtered
45 Albanians in the village of Racak in Kosovo in 1999, the NATO intervened.
NATO launched a 4-month bombing campaign upon Serbia as a reply to the
massacre at Racak.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) investigated the environmental
impact of the Kosovo war. It was concluded that the war did not result
in an environmental disaster affecting the entire Balkan region. Nevertheless,
some environmental hot spots were identified, namely Belgrade, Pancevo, Kragujevac,
Novi Sad and Bor.
 Bombings
carried out by the United States resulted in leakages in oil refineries
and oil storage depots. Industrial sites containing other industries
were also targeted. EDC (1,2-dichloroethane), PCBs en mercury escaped
to the environment. Burning of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) resulted
in the formation of dioxin, hydrochloric acid, carbon monoxide and PAHs,
and oil burning released sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide,
lead and PAHs into the air. Heavy clouds of black smoke forming
over burning industrial targets caused black rain to fall on the area
around Pancevo. Some damage was done to National Parks in Serbia by
bombings, and therefore to biodiversity.
EDC, mercury and petroleum products (e.g. PCBs) polluted the Danube
River. These are present in the sediments and may resurface in due time.
EDC is toxic to both terrestrial and aquatic life. Mercury may be converted
into methyl mercury, which is very toxic and bio accumulates. As a measure
to prevent the consequences of bombing, a fertilizer plant in Pancevo
released liquid ammonia into the Danube River. This caused fish kills up
to 30 kilometres downstream.
In 1999 when NATO bombed Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, the
resulting environmental damage was enormous. Petrochemical plants in
suburbs started leaking all kinds of hazardous chemicals into air, water
and soil. Factories producing ammonia and plastics released chlorine,
hydrochloric acid, vinyl chloride and other chlorine substances,
resulting in local air pollution and health problems. Water sources were
polluted by oil leaking from refineries. The Danube River was polluted
by oil more severely, but this time hydrochloric acid and mercury
compounds also ended up there. These remained in the water for a
considering period of time and consequently ended up in neighbouring
countries Rumania and Bulgaria.
Clean drinking water supplies and waste treatment
plants were damaged by NATO bombings. Many people fled their houses and
were moved to refugee camps, where the number of people grew rapidly. A
lack of clean drinking water and sanitation problems occurred. Like in the Gulf War, Depleted Uranium (DU) was applied in the Kosovo
War to puncture tanks and other artillery. After the war, the United
Kingdom assisted in the removal of DU residues from the environment.
Veterans complained of health effects. It was acknowledged by the UK
and the US that dusts from DU can be dangerous if inhaled. Inhalation
of dust most likely results in chemical poisoning.
World War I: Trench Warfare – In 1914, the
assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary resulted
in the First World War, otherwise known as The Great War, or WWI. It
started with Austria-Hungary invading Serbia, where the assassin came
from, and Germany invading Belgium. The war was mostly in Europe, between
the Allies and the Central Powers.
Allies: France, United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Russia,
Poland, Serbia, Montenegro, Rumania, Albania, Greece, Portugal, Finland,
United States, Canada, Brazil, Armenia, Australia, India, New Zealand,
South Africa, Liberia, China, Japan, Thailand, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and Panama
Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Turkish Empire, and Bulgaria
 The
war was fought from trenches, dug from the North Sea to the border
of Switzerland. In 1918 when the war was over, empires disintegrated
into smaller countries, marking the division of Europe today. Over 9
million people had died, most of which perished from influenza after
the outbreak of the Spanish Flu (see
environmental disasters).
The war did not directly cause the influenza outbreak, but it was amplified.
Mass movement of troops and close quarters caused the Spanish Flu to
spread quickly. Furthermore, stresses of war may have increased the
susceptibility of soldiers to the disease.
In terms of environmental impact, World War I was most damaging, because
of landscape changes caused by trench warfare. Digging trenches caused
trampling of grassland, crushing of plants and animals, and churning
of soil. Erosion resulted from forest logging to expand the network
of trenches. Soil structures were altered severely, and if the war was
never fought, in all likelihood the landscape would have looked very
differently today.
Another damaging impact was the application of poison gas. Gases were
spread throughout the trenches to kill soldiers of the opposite front.
Examples of gases applied during WWI are tear gas (aerosols causing
eye irritation), mustard gas (cell toxic gas causing blistering and
bleeding), and carbonyl chloride (carcinogenic gas). The gases caused
a total of 100,000 deaths, most caused by carbonyl chloride (phosgene).
Battlefields were polluted, and most of the gas evaporates into the
atmosphere. After the war, unexploded ammunition caused major problems
in former battle areas. Environmental legislation prohibits detonation
or dumping chemical weapons at sea, therefore the cleanup was and still
remains a costly operation. In 1925, most WWI participants signed a
treaty banning the application of gaseous chemical weapons. Chemical
disarmament plants are planned in France and Belgium.
World War II: Gas Chambers
– World War II was a worldwide conflict, fought between the Allies (Britain,
France and the United States as its core countries) and the Axis Powers
(Germany, Italy and Japan as its core countries). It started with the
German invasion of Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1939, and ended with
the liberation of Western Europe by the allies in 1945.
 Between
1941 and 1945, over 1 million people were killed in the gas chambers
of the extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Nazi Germany. Over 90%
of the victims were Jews, and the other 10% consisted of Poles, Soviet
prisoners of war and gypsies. The substance applied was Zyklon-B,
a cyanide-based insecticide that is lethal to humans in large doses.
It was stored as crystals in closed containers, but when exposed to
air it released the lethal hydrogen cyanide gas (HCN). As Zyklon-B was
poured into the gas chambers through small openings, it took only 10-15
minutes to kill all people inside.
The insecticide was supplied to Nazi Germany by two firms, Tesch-Stabenow
and Degesh. After the war the firms claimed they were unaware of the
application of the product to kill people in large numbers. However,
it was later stated that the company had to have known, because they
supplied enough substance to kill 2 million people, and additionally
gave some advise on how to use the ventilating and heating equipment.
World War II: Hunger winter – In late 1944, the allied troops
attempted to liberate Western Europe. As they reached The Netherlands,
German resistance caused the liberation to be halted in Arnhem, as allied
troops failed to occupy a bridge over the River Rhine. As the Dutch
government in exile in Britain called for railway strikes, the Germans
responded by putting embargo on food transport to the west. This resulted
in what is now known as the Hunger Winter, causing an estimated 20,000-25,000
Dutch to starve to death. A number of factors caused the starvation:
a harsh winter, fuel shortages, the ruin of agricultural land by bombings,
floods, and the food transport embargo. Most people in the west lived
off tulip bulbs and sugar beet. Official food rations were below 1000
cal per person per day. In May 1945 the Hunger Winter ended with the
official liberation of the west of The Netherlands.
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- Kuwait Information Office in India
- Peace Pledge Union
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- The Manhattan Project (MBE)
- New Scientist
- Niskor Project
- Sierra Club of Canada
- United Nations Environment Programme
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia |
