SCARRED LANDS and
WOUNDED LIVES
The Environmental Footprint of War
When we make war, we destroy not only the enemy, we destroy our earth as well.
This film is prompted by a recognition of our deep dependence on the natural world and the significant threat to that world posed by war and preparations for war.
The scale of environmental damage over the last half century is unprecedented. Falling water tables, shrinking forest cover, declining species diversity -- all bespeak 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, indifference to species loss, ruinous environmental practices. Ironically, however, war -- that most destructive of human behaviors -- is commonly overlooked.
In all its stages, from the production of weapons through combat to cleanup and restoration, war entails actions that pollute land, air, and water, destroy biodiversity, and drain 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 ecosystem 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 ecosphere. It is toward such a change in values and actions that this documentary film is directed.
Tuesday, May 13, 8:00 pm
Fellowship Hall, First Baptist Church
305 N. California Ave. (near Bryant), Palo Alto
$5 - $10 suggested donation || No one turned away for lack of funds
Wheelchair accessible
Presented by
Peninsula Peace and Justice Center
www.PeaceandJustice.org || (650) 326-8837