In the microcosm of war, where thousands of tragedies occur daily, an environmental tragedy usually occurs as well. War is a very polluting and environmentally damaging activity.
Hello friends of ecotrain I hope you are very well, I am writing this article with the intention of informing about a little documented aspect of war, certainly, having a war the people involved change their priorities, survival becomes something fundamental and everything else is superfluous, this includes soldiers, civilians caught in the middle of the conflict, scientists and researchers who want to do something good for the planet, industry and governments. All are trying to overcome difficulties and achieve peace by one means or another. The environment is no longer a priority, but this does not mean that war is not also an environmental catastrophe that must be recognized, and although there is not much we can do to prevent damage to the environment, the fact that we know that war is also very destructive to it is one more argument in favor of the search for peace.
How war pollutes.
Before we begin, we have to accept the facts about many of the elements in war, the weapons are designed to be effective, economical and as destructive as possible, there are no environmental considerations. And soldiers are trained to accomplish their mission objectives and survive. Everything else is a luxury.
For example, something as basic as bullets from weapons such as rifles and machine guns are contaminants, lead in shells can contaminate the soil where battles are fought, in the United States it is widely documented that soil from shooting ranges can cause heavy metal poisoning, and in Australia it was proven that lead affects animal and plant life as it oxidizes and enters the food chain.
Empty shells also contain traces of contaminating chemicals such as mercury.
In recent decades, ammunition with cores made of highly dense metals, such as depleted uranium, has begun to be adopted in automatic and anti-tank guns. This has caused areas in conflict zones where these weapons are used to appear with dangerous levels of radiation for people, causing an increase in cases of cancer and genetic diseases and of course, damaging the fauna and flora as this study shows. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348800802_Remediation_of_the_areas_contaminated_by_depleted_uranium_ammunition
Many of the explosives used contain chemical contaminants, such as white phosphorus, RDX and TNT. All toxic to living beings, rocket fuels are also highly toxic.
https://gulflink.health.mil/al_jub_ii/al_jub_ii_refs/n50en153/dmattie.htm
If we talk about the destruction caused by war, fires and the destruction of water and food sources for strategic advantage are only part of it, the burnt paint from destroyed vehicles, particles from demolished buildings, and fuel spills from attacks on vehicles, transports or refineries pollute the air and soils in war zones.
[in the picture, oil wells burning during the first gulf war, supposedly set on fire by the Iraqis to prevent them from falling into the hands of coalition troops].
In a less direct but no less harmful way, the simple fact of deploying soldiers in a war zone is a polluting matter, the fuel used by the transports and then the garbage generated during the stay of the troops is a problem with which even today we struggle all over the world. Simply disposing of garbage in a war zone is such a risky business that it is usually burned, releasing toxins and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. An excellent video on the harmfulness of these practices here.
and then there is the industry associated with the production of armaments, which due to the very nature of the activity they perform, put more emphasis on costs and functionality than on environmental control. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-08-mn-1505-story.html
Other indirect damages of the conflict are, for example, the destruction of modern energy generation systems, which leads people to resort to deforestation and companies to use older generation methods, that is, more polluting, or as in the current case of the war in Ukraine, that due to the increase in the price of fuels, the European Union is reactivating plants that burn coal or oil to produce electricity.
Trade difficulties also mean a shortage of critical materials such as Nickel or aluminum, essential for clean electricity generation technologies.
And causing more research and development to focus on weapons production sets humanity back in many other areas.
[in the picture, oil wells burning during the first gulf war, supposedly set on fire by the Iraqis to prevent them from falling into the hands of coalition troops].
In a less direct but no less harmful way, the simple fact of deploying soldiers in a war zone is a polluting matter, the fuel used by the transports and then the garbage generated during the stay of the troops is a problem with which even today we struggle all over the world. Simply disposing of garbage in a war zone is such a risky business that it is usually burned, releasing toxins and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. An excellent video on the harmfulness of these practices here.
and then there is the industry associated with the production of armaments, which due to the very nature of the activity they perform, put more emphasis on costs and functionality than on environmental control. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-08-mn-1505-story.html
Other indirect damages of the conflict are, for example, the destruction of modern energy generation systems, which leads people to resort to deforestation and companies to use older generation methods, that is, more polluting, or as in the current case of the war in Ukraine, that due to the increase in the price of fuels, the European Union is reactivating plants that burn coal or oil to produce electricity.
Trade difficulties also mean a shortage of critical materials such as Nickel or aluminum, essential for clean electricity generation technologies.
And causing more research and development to focus on weapons production sets humanity back in many other areas.
Recommended Bibliographic Reference
[2] ENVIROMENTAL IMPACTS OF THE WAR IN UKRANIE AND PROSPECTS FOR A GREN RECONSTRUCTION