recent research shows that oil spills from the battle of the Atlantic caused some bird populations to plunge by a staggering 95%The human suffering inflicted by war is so terrible that we may naturally overlook the environmental damage which large-scale conflict causes. Sometimes,of course, it is all too obvious, or as with the case of Agent Orange,the highly toxic defoliant sprayed by the Americans over 12000 square miles of forest during the Vietnam war, or with the mass oil pollution from the Sea Island terminal in Kuwait during the Gulf war in 1991. But on the whole, and certainly with major conflicts,damage to the natural world is a secondary consideration.
There were at least 100000 individuals on Skomer in 1934. But in 1963, the numbers had dropped to 4856 birds Related: US funding recent soldiers in wildlife trafficking war: giant rats Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com