Ecology, War, and Nuclear Testing in the Pacific: The Path of Reconciliation

Armed conflict has been part of the human experience for all recorded history, and together with peoples and cultures, the environment has been a major casualty of this. The causes and costs of war are numerous, complex and invariably expensive, leaving a toll that is measured not only in financial terms, but also in terms of the impact on the natural ecology, communities and wildlife, along with the wastage of finite resources. The ecological footprint from war and nuclear testing in the Pacific is noted particularly. Faith communities have a role to play in reaching for a solution to global conflict, and scriptural records begin to point the way towards a wholistic attitude towards reconciliation. This chapter identifies ten aspects of that charter, which taken together, form a significant and challenging opportunity for people of faith to contribute to a more peaceful and sustainable future. Armed conflict rarely has any long-term winners, wherefore the way forward both for the environment and indeed all life, will be found in the more unifying goal of reconciliation.