The dilemma of greening the military

Military organisations worldwide are faced with a unique condundrum when confroted by enviromental issues.Some militaries have been reluctant to accept liability for past transgressions.Current pratices are also generally driven by national legislations where standards and enforcement efforts can vary greatly between developed and developing countries.There is also a further constraint particular to the armed forces,when it comes to operational effectiveness,he usual reponse from the military is that military requirements take predence over enviromental issues.This issue was raised by Mr Shallhorn.Mr Shallhorn has also stated that operational requiements do not figure in two other enviromental issues raised by Mr Stallhorn in connection with military pratices, the scrapping of ships and landuse.Mr Stallhorn also raised the issue of nuclear weapons,commenting on the dangers inherent in both their continued deploynment by sveral countries and proliferation.


My reflection
I feel that this article is a noble attempt to make the various military organistion more friendly to the enviroment by showing that they can afford to.However for this this to happen is impossible,this is due to the fact that weapons which are destructive and effective tend to be harmful to the enviroment.For example,nuclear weapons are very harmful to the enviroment yet many countries still use them.This is due to fact that they can cause great damage to the enemy.Hence although the military forces of many countries can afford to be more friendly to the enviroment.They will not do so as this means cutting down on their destructive weapons, therefore putting them in a more vulunerabe position.
Stallhorn has also emphasised that the military should take a reponsible approach to recycling its old ships,as well as aircraft and armoured vehicles. However this is quite difficult,considering the fact that the military would want to cut down cost when engaging in such activities. posted by Benedict chee