What is the Environmental Cost of War?

Aug 30, 2014 | The Guardian
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The last time the ecological cost of war was a hot topic we were still worried about the ozone layer and George Michael’s “Praying for Time” was on the radio. That was 1991, when the Gulf War became a talking point in eco circles for inflicting maximum environmental damage in a remarkably short space of time. The angst began in the run-up to the conflict when scientists expressed concern about 750 Kuwaiti oil wells going up in flames. Ultimately 10m barrels of oil went into the Persian gulf and researchers linked the subsequent fluctuation in temperatures to the devastating Bangladesh typhoon of 1991.