Friends of the Earth welcome visitors Dr Sue Wareham OEM, President of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and Judith le Blanc, Native American activist & Organising Co-ordinator for the US peace group United for Peace and Justice. Wareham and le Blanc will speak in Brisbane this week on the environmental and social justice costs of war in opposition to the Talisman Saber 09 US-Aust joint war games. Dr Wareham will show the film Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War
The war games begin this week in the Great Barrier Reef and the Shoalwater Bay regions of QLD, and the Delamere and Bradshaw bases in the NT. In Qld the war games occur in some of the most environmentally precious locations in Australia including the biodiverse region of Shoalwater Bay in the central coast.
Spokesperson for Friends of the Earth Brisbane, Robin Taubenfeld says, “The Shoalwater region is home to some of the best untouched wilderness in QLD. Endangered dugong, green sea turtles and whales dwell here. It is a growing tourist region. Why would you want to let 23,000 troops stomp on such a precious environmental asset?”
“Not only are the threats local and region, but global. War and preparation for war are the most polluting industries on the planet. War games in our region increase regional instability and threaten our neighbours. Preparing for war is no way to wage peace. “
Dr Wareham says, “A fraction of the $308 billion that was announced in the budget for the next decade of military spending, and the $48 million or more that will be spent on Talisman Sabre, could achieve major security benefits if channelled into renewable energies, environmental remediation and building regional goodwill.”
Dr Wareham and US native American peace activist Judith le Blance will be speaking in Brisbane at the July 7 film night and joining the 2009 Peace Convergence in Rockhampton and Yeppoon.
Film Night and Speakers:
Judith le Blanc, Native American activist & Organising Co-ordinator for the US peace group United for Peace and Justice
Dr Sue Wareham, Medical Association for the Prevention of War, Winner or 1985 Nobel Peace Prize
Chaired by Hamish Chitts of Standfast, veterans against war
Free film screening: Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War
LHMU Building, 27 Peel St South Brisbane
7pm, Tues July 7, 2009
ABOUT THE FILM: Scarred Lands and Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War
In all its stages, from the production of weapons through combat to cleanup and restoration, war entails actions that pollute land, air, and water, destroy biodiversity, and drain natural resources. Yet the environmental damage occasioned by war and preparation for war is routinely underestimated, underreported, even ignored. The environment remains war's "silent casualty."
Another free event – all welcome!