International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict

On this day in 1991, the the last burning oil well in Kuwait was capped, and the environmental destruction wrought by the Gulf War began to be remediated. On the fifth day of this month in 2001, the UN General Assembly declared 6 November the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.

With thanks to people like the members of the Kuwait Dive Team, I urge us all to remember the violence of conflict - to ourselves, to our loved ones, to others, and to our world. May we all strive toward a more peaceful and just planet. And when we and others betray that calling, may we all work to make it better.

http://www.un.org/en/events/environmentconflictday/