The global conference on environment was recently held in Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark. The conference discussed the issue of reducing the release of carbon dioxide and other such toxic gases that destroy the global environment. Today the world is confronting the major issue of environment. Some of the countries of the world have been blamed that they are producing a lot of material releasing carbon dioxide for their industrial development that is affecting the green house gases. This is causing an increase in global temperature. More than 1,500 envoys of the 192 countries participated in this conference. The importance of this issue could be judged from the fact that more than 100 head of states attended this conference. Similarly, more than 100,000 protesters were protesting against these hypocritical policies of the developed countries on streets. However, an important factor was not mentioned over there in the conference. How is it possible that the element responsible for spreading the environmental pollution could not be mentioned in the conference? This agency is playing havoc with the global environment by producing most of the carbon dioxide and other such toxic gases. This agency is US Defense Ministry or Pentagon. Pentagon is a geometrical shape having five sides. To the readers' interest, I must tell that as the US Defense Ministry building is of Pentagon shape, therefore, this building and the US Defense Ministry is called Pentagon.
Largest Oil Consumer
Pentagon is the world's largest oil consumer, its relevant materials and energy user in the world. Despite this fact, it is quite strange that the role of this agency has been shelved under the carpet in almost all global conferences on environment. The release of green house gases during war activities of Pentagon in Iraq and Afghanistan, its secret actions in Pakistan, the equipment used on its more than 1,000 bases spread all over the world, its 6,000 installations in the US, all NATO's operations, its huge aircraft carriers, jet fighters, tests and sales of weapons, sale of weapons and training of troops have never been attributed to the US Government. It has been proved through bulletin of 17 February 2007 that Pentagon is the largest oil consumer in the world. This bulletin contains the details of the jet fighters, ships, vehicles, and installations of Pentagon where oil is used. At that time, the US Navy had around 285 war and supporting ships and 4,000 jet fighters. The US military had approximately 28,000 armored vehicles and approximately 140,000 HMWV. More than 4,000 choppers, several hundreds of other planes, a fleet of 187,497 vehicles, nuclear submarines, huge ships, and aircraft carriers where jet fighters land and take off and they release radio active material in the atmosphere all the time. Moreover, thousands of other army vehicles also use oil. According to the CIA World Fact Book of 2006, there are 210 countries in the world and there are only 35 countries are using more oil than Pentagon. According to an officially released data, the US military uses approximately 321,000 barrels oil in a day and the quantity of that oil has not been counted, which is used by the Army-affiliated contractors or private agencies working on lease. The preparation of deadly weapons, bombs, grenades and missiles and unlimited energy used during their tests and other resources are besides this huge consumption. According to the report of Steve Kretzmann, director of the Oil Change International, approximately141 (MMTCO2e) was released in the air during Iraq war from March 2003 to December 2007.
Major Difficulties
Approximately 60 percent of the total gases released by all countries is released in areas where war is underway. Release of toxic gases is prohibited in war-torn areas under the US law. Therefore, scientists have to face several difficulties, while gathering this data. Bryan Farrell is considered an expert environmentalist and he has written in his book The Green Zone-The Environmental Cost of Militarism that "the great attacks on the environment of the each is launched by an agency, which is the US military". It is strange that the activities of the US Defense Ministry Pentagon have got exception in the global environmental conferences. It is also really a strange tale.
The global conference on environment held in Japanese city of Kyoto in 1997. The US Government imposed this condition, while signing the agreement that the US military action in the world, participation of the US military in UN missions, and US-NATO joint military actions would not be discussed in the global environmental conferences. Under the force of circumstances, the participants of the conference accepted this condition, so that the United State could sign this agreement. However, the United States adopted its deceptive posture, and when the entire world acknowledged its condition, it refused to sign the agreement. In this way, the United States deceptively removed its military actions from the agenda of any global conference in the world. This great concession has provided freehand to the United States in that it could play havoc with the environment of the world through its military action as much as it desires.
Impact of Toxic Gases and Materials
In addition to carbon dioxide, the US military is adding up several other toxic gases and materials in the soil and water. The US military is also using weapons that have been manufactured with less powerful uranium. These weapons were used on wholesale basis in the Middle East, Balkan, and some areas of the Central Asia. That spread thousands of pounds used material and radioactive particles in the areas. The US Government is also selling explosive mines and cluster bombs on wholesale basis. These bombs causing damages to farmers and common citizens after they are sprayed in the fields in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Thousands of people have been maimed due to this. Israel showered more than 100,000 US supplied cluster bombs on Lebanon in 2006.
Toxic and chemical material was spread on a vast area in Vietnam because of the US invasion. Because of that invasion, still the level of dioxin toxic gas is 300-400 above dangerous level. This is causing birth-disabilities to the newborn babies and diseases like cancer. The Iraqi land was the most fertile land in the Middle East since 5,000 years.
Environmental Pollution
However, the twice US invasion has devastated its fertility. Iraq used to supply food to other countries and now it imports more than 80 percent from aboard. We have not mentioned the nuclear bombs dropped by the United States on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. No agreement can decrease the environmental pollution, in which the US military actions are not included. The world should include the US military actions in its agenda.
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