You might wonder why Iraq, one of the most oil-rich countries in the world, would want to invest in building up its biofuels sector. At first blush it seems like a stretch of resources for a country trying to recover after years of war.

However, In Iraq the agricultural sector has long been the dominant source of jobs. In fact, much of modern agriculture was developed in the Iraqi area over 7,000 years ago. With the recent devastation caused by the instability of war coupled with an extended drought, those jobs have disappeared. So, although Iraq does have the third largest oil reserves in the world, its agricultural sector is in many ways more important to its economic recovery.

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-Bill Maher

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Many soldiers stationed all over Iraq lack adequate supplies of drinking water. Commanders have been forced to steal water from the private contractors to meet the basic needs of their troops.

An Army training document on preventing heat casualties state that in hot desserts, a soldier can lose up to four gallons of water per day.  A 1957 field manual, states “in hot deserts, you need a minimum of one gallon (of water) per day” for survival.  Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Robey explains, “We were rationed two bottles of water a day…We were on missions, I ran out of water.” 

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Coupled with economics, dwindling natural resources, and the dangers of transporting fuel in war zones (half of all US casualties in Iraq are from attacks on fuel carrying convoys), the military plans to spend economic stimulus money on alternative fuels and energy conservation.

Traditionally, the Department of Defense has cared little about saving money. The recent shift towards alternative fuels as a military priority is an effort to reduce casualties rather than save natural resources or funds. “The honest-to-God truth, the most compelling reason to do it is it saves lives,” said Brigadier General Steven Anderson, director of operations and logistics for the Army.  Saving money, preserving dwindling natural resources and lessening U.S. dependence on foreign sources are lesser priorities of the alternative fuels and energy conservation initiatives.

The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars have set the record for the most fuel consumption of any war in US history.  Since the War on Terror began in 2001, the amount of oil consumption has increased from 50 million gallons to 500 million gallons a year at bases.  Using Economic Stimulus Package money, the Pentagon has several alternative fuels and energy saving projects planned.

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A key Iraqi concern, Iraq and Turkey have argued over upstream vs. downstream water rights on the Tigris and Euphrates many times in the past. This announcement and state visit may well strengthen ties between these two nations, recently under strain due to on-going tensions because of Turkish military operations in northern Iraq against Kurdish separatist groups.

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Iraq’s marshlands are the largest wetland habitat in the Middle East, but years of damming, drainage, and pollution have rendered the area inadequate for the survival of the area’s plants, animals, and humans.

Untold numbers of people, many of whom living in extreme poverty, have been displaced by the drying marshlands. After initial improvements after the expulsion of Saddam Husein’s regime, water levels have shrunk down to below 2003 levels due to drought, causing many who returned to the area to leave.

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Thanks to the Bush administration, the current US deficit is over $1 trillion (not including the economic stimulus package). Obama plans to cut this deficit in half by 2013. Is this even possible?

President Obama has stated in discussing the economy:

No single piece of this broad economic recovery can, by itself, meet the demands that have been placed on us. We can’t help people find work or pay their bills unless we unlock credit for families and businesses. We can’t solve our housing crisis unless we help people find work so that they can make payments on their homes. We can’t produce shared prosperity without firm rules of the road. And we can’t generate sustained growth without getting our deficits under control. In short, we cannot successfully address any of our problems without addressing them all. And that is exactly what the strategy we are pursuing is designed to do.

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Luckily, my children are not growing up with real life violence surrounding them like the children of Iraq.  It is natural for such violence to enter into children’s dramatic play; however, children in Iraq are often mistakenly assassinated for their toy guns.  That’s why the organization La’Onf (the Arabic translation for the word nonviolence) has worked to get war toys banned in the Muthanna province.  Peaceful Tomorrows, an organization founded by family members of September 11th victims, explains:

One example of La’Onf efforts to apply nonviolent principles in practical ways in the interests of children is the campaign against war toys.

In too many instances soldiers shot and killed children who were carrying toy guns that looked like real guns.

The campaign began  with programs in which  children could trade in their toy guns for soccer balls.  It then expanded into lobbying efforts.   La’Onf’s campaign has now resulted in legislation banning the sale of war toys in the province of Muthanna.  La’Onf activists hope to see national legislation passed in the near future.

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1. Introduction
It’s obvious why Sarah Palin got the VP nod. And Saturday Night Live makes this point most brilliantly: Hillary Clinton.

2. Sarah Palin On The Environment
Just one day before being picked as the GOP vice president, she wrote a letter to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger urging him to shoot down policy aimed at pollution.

3. Sarah Palin On Ethics
Palin’s record is already dirty enough to warrant a trip to the free clinic, and that’s just as Governor! What is she capable of if elected as VP?

4. Sarah Palin On Energy and Big Oil
Sarah Palin dismisses alternative energy in favor of a pipeline built by God.

5. Sarah Palin On Foreign Policy
Colin Powell is jumping party lines because of Palin - can we afford her on the job training?

Image Credit: bobster1985 via flickr

<< Previous Post: Big Oil, Part Four

Is it gross - sure. Yet the picture sums up the last eight years of foreign policy quite nicely, don’t ya think? We’ve suffered through too much of this cowboy politics crap (pun intended) to allow it to happen again.

But that’s exactly what we’re getting with Palin - more crap! Hell, even Colin Powell is jumping party lines because of this lady. It’s the same political myopia as George W. but with a nicer rack. For example, how could any politician admit to not focusing on the war in Iraq…much? What has she been doing since 2003? And can we afford another administration who thinks God speaks to them? Seriously, that kinda thing never really works out for the best.

More on Palin >>

From Think Progress

Palin Hasn’t Given The War In Iraq Much Thought. Palin told the Alaska Business Monthly, “I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place.” [Alaska Business Monthly, 3/1/07]

Palin Has Never Been To Iraq. In her only trip overseas, Palin visited Alaska National Guard troops stationed in Kuwait and Germany in July 2007. [AP, 7/25/07]

Palin Believes That The Iraq War Is A Task ‘From God.’ Speaking at the Wasilla Assembly of God church in June, Palin said that “our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God.” [Huffington Post, 9/2/08]

Palin Believes The Iraq War Was Fought Over Oil. “We are a nation at war and in many [ways] the reasons for war are fights over energy sources,” Palin told BusinessWeek in an interview. [BusinessWeek, 8/29/08]

Palin Didn’t Have A Passport Until 2007. Palin first obtained a passport in July 2007 for her trip to Kuwait and Germany to visit Alaska National Guard troops. Her only other trips outside of the United States have been to Canada and Mexico. A Palin spokeswoman had previously said that Palin had also been to Ireland, although it was actually just a “refueling stop” on her Germany/Kuwait trip. [New York Times, 8/29/08; Politico, 9/2/08; ABC News, 9/12/08]

Palin Has Never Issued An Order To The Alaska National Guard. Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, the service commander of the Alaska National Guard, has stated that Palin has never personally ordered the National Guard to do anything. [McClatchy, 9/4/08]

Palin Is Unaware Of The Bush Doctrine. During an interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson, Palin was stumped about the Bush Doctrine, thinking it was the President’s “worldview.” [ABC News, 9/11/08]

Related posts:

Amy Poehler does the ‘Sarah Palin Rap’ on SNL [w/ video]
Palin Protests Federal Listing of Beluga Whales as Endangered
Setting the Record Straight: Sarah Palin and the Bridge to Nowhere

Image source: saintbob on Flickr

The Army had begun pushing for environmental sustainability in all of their bases, starting with Fort Bragg in North Carolina. And they’re thinking it through as well; not only are they thinking about the current footprint (I’m not going to say it), they’re thinking about the future as well. Since 2001, each village set up within Fort Bragg for training purposes has been made up of shipping containers, reducing the cost from $400,000 to $25,000, and keeping the shipping containers out of the solid waste stream.

But the goal is not solely to save money, but also lives as well.

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Editor’s note: The fourth part of the “Human Interaction with Nature” series takes a look at efforts to recover endangered animal species. This post was written by Denzyl Janneker, and originally published on Friday, May 9, 2008.

Baraboo, Wisconsin and Basra, Iraq might have nothing in common, but fighting a war and killing endangered species has prompted a common human response - to do an about turn and nurture that which we have destroyed.

Baraboo is known for efforts in saving its whooping crane population, while Basra is emerging from the ashes of war with a skyline dotted with cranes, symbolizing the reconstruction and development initiatives under way. At least that’s the intention. Two words stand out in either respect: Reconstruction and reintroduction.

Wars aside, what is it about man’s insatiable desire to kill animals, whether it’s for hides, horns or a hunter’s trophy? If only animals were like humans, they’d be completely cynical and sarcastic:

“Well, sir you might as just save me the trouble of running off into the bush and hiding. So load your bolt-action rifle and oh, don’t worry about the telescopic sight since I’m just going to be a few feet away. And when my head’s mounted above your fireplace in say 10 or 20 years from now, you can brag to your guests what a tough contest it was.”

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Photo Courtesy of Luke Plunkett @ Kotaku.com

There isn’t a body count for wildlife, native plants, or eco-systems that have been killed in the struggle.

War takes a priceless toll on everything natural. Yet, nature may be the last thing that nations go to war over.

How long before we decide to protect the environment through force?

Can we go to war over the environment and still save it?

This may seem far fetched, but the possibility of an environmental war is already being discussed in the U.N.

“Ecological security must no longer be considered a luxury but rather an inextricable element of a durable peace policy,” states Klaus Topfer. He calls for international guarantees for protecting the environment similar to the Geneva Conventions, which protect the rights of prisoners and civilian populations in war. For ecological damage poses a threat greater than bombs to populations distressed by hunger, thirst, and disease.

If ecological damage is classified as such a great threat, could wars be declared to save the Amazon rain forest or Mediterranean fish populations?

Dr. Klaus Topfer, head of the U.N. environment program thinks that war is very likely. Perhaps not for the Spotted Owl. But as populations grow, natural resources are going to become more and more scarce. As nation’s need, war will likely occur.

Currently one quarter of the world’s population does not have access to clean water. If trends continue, Pakistan and China, both will be struggling to hydrate their populations. And a scary thing is they possess nuclear weapons. If push comes to shove for H2O, what would their options be?

To prevent this, we have to move away from our unsustainable systems. We need to use agencies like the U.N. to moderate, educate, and propagate nations towards an environmentally sustainable future. Not just for the birds and trees, but for our own survival.

We need to make our peace with green now.

We’ve got five years, stuck on my eyes
Five years, what a surprise
We’ve got five years, my brain hurts a lot
Five years, that’s all we’ve got

Okay, so maybe the above David Bowie lyric was about alien invasion and the impending end of humankind as we know it, but it’s been playing on a loop inside my head ever since Wednesday, when we “celebrated” the fifth anniversary of our war in Iraq.

Five years. My brain definitely hurts a lot.

While the current administration will have us believe that the surge is working and that stability has returned to once volatile regions, the truth is probably closer to a “whack-a-mole” strategy that shows no signs of leading to a peaceful resolution for this ongoing nightmare.

A majority of Americans now say this war was a mistake, and we continue to hear reports—be it from the peripheries—of civilian lives lost, soldiers’ lives lost, soldiers injured, vets suffering from PTSD, tax dollars spent, etc. Still, perhaps one of the greatest casualties of this war gets very little mention.

I’m speaking, of course, of the environment.

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As it rages on five years later, perhaps one should spare a moment to reflect on the environmental effects of the war in Iraq.

How much has the war contributed to global warming? We can now debate the war on the scales of environmental justice and evidence is emerging that the damage on the environment and the global warming effects that this war has caused calls for all of us to pause and think.

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Inspired by Beth’s post “Getting Less to Give More: The New Birthday Party“, I decided to let my six-year-old daughter pick out our Kiva loan recipient. She picked out a baker in Kirkuk, Iraq, whose identity is protected.

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It’s difficult to say which one of the two options above concerns me most, but the Bush/Cheney administration, in its own way, is about as scary as nuclear proliferation. Their environmental record may well go down in history as one of the worst ever, and there’s still plenty of time to make it even worse.

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Enjoy!

• Africa wages war on scourge of plastic bags

• Crab fishing in the North Sea is a dangerous profession

• Bush thinks the main lesson to be learned from the Vietnam War was that we withdrew too early

• Dirty Coal Boss gets a free pass from CNN on Utah Coal Mine disaster

• North Carolina’s seawall ban

• Mountaintop removal mining: No respect for the hollow

• Global Warming: Still Happening

• Japan To Use Disposable Chopsticks For Biofuel

• Opening up the American lawbooks

• Reality: America Isn’t Conservative

• New Study: 87% of Americans “seriously concerned about the environment”

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