“We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a livable future. We have the tools and know-how required to limit warming.” -- IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee, from the April 4, 2023 IPCC Press Release.
Every year during April, people celebrate and honor Earth Month through neighborhood clean-ups, community festivals, and public education projects about the need to reduce our carbon footprint. Veterans For Peace honors Earth Month by educating the public on how militarism fuels the climate crisis and devastates the environment -- and what we can do about it. We spread the (often avoided or ignored) message about the climate/environmental costs of war, as part of VFP's mission to expose "The True Costs of War."
For centuries, war has not only involved the annihilation of human life, but also environmental destruction, in both 'collateral damage' and deliberate damage to environments. Now, the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of war and militarism, including the manufacture, testing, and transport of weapons systems, are worsening this existential threat to life on Earth. Instead of going towards a cleaner, cooler future and a livable planet for those who come after us, our tax dollars are being spent on death and destruction, much more than on climate mitigation and adaptation (21 times more on the military than on climate solutions in the IRA, for example.) Veterans For Peace is working, with our allies, to change this dire situation and help bring about the more peaceful world we all need.
“The environment has long been a silent casualty of war and armed conflict. From the contamination of land and the destruction of forests to the plunder of natural resources and the collapse of management systems, the environmental consequences of war are often widespread and devastating.” -Ban Ki-moon, former UN secretary general (2007 - 2016)
Take Action
- Visit the Downloadable Resources page to print our tri-fold brochure at Climate Crisis and Militarism
- Schedule a presentation on Climate and Militarism for your local group!
- Read VFP's Statement on Environmental Costs of War
- Download VFP's Environmental Costs of War handout
- Distribute our half-page flyer that links to the above PDF!
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Members will be able to print the half page flyers and distribute them at actions, leading folks back to the full Environmental Costs of War PDF.
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How to use QR codes: Hover your phone camera over the QR code and it will allow you to click a link that will take you to the document!
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