A majority of Fred’s University students are against the invasion of Ukraine, without being able to identify the conflict zone on a map and despite having an Evil Characters Are The Most Fun Crush on Putin.
How do cats feel about the war? Given the fact that cats are themselves an invasive species, you might think they would be pro-dictator. Despite the fact that cats have driven 63 species into extinction and kill between 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually, cats turn out to be pacifists when it comes to human wars. Cats have also pointed out that while the US might be against Russia invading other countries, it has been known to invade countries on false pretexts as well. Meow.
The most recent Educational Cat Video from the Association of Imaginary Schools provides statistics on the environmental devastation wrought by human wars. Added to that the environmental catastrophe unfolding in Ukraine: “As Russian troops take Chernobyl and invade the highly-industrial separatist-controlled Donbas region, experts worry that on top of the primary death and destruction associated with war, the invasion could create a permanent environmental catastrophe associated with nuclear material and other toxic chemicals stored throughout the regions.”
While cats are hawks on birds, they are doves on the environment.
Text of the Educational Cat Video:
War poisons our water
Water poisoned by wars can kill more people than direct conflict itself.
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/children-living-protracted-conflicts-are-three-times-more-likely-die-water-related
Weapons production poisons the water supply
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/us/military-water-toxic-chemicals.html
War poisons the air
The Cost of Wars Project found that US military pollution had accounted for 1.2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2019/Summary_Pentagon%20Fuel%20Use%2C%20Climate%20Change%2C%20and%20the%20Costs%20of%20War%20%281%29.pdf
War poisons bodies and minds
War trauma causes physical and emotional damage that can last generations.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5775132/
War destroys the earth
“High-intensity conflicts require and consume vast quantities of fuel, leading to massive CO2 emissions and contributing to climate change. Large scale vehicle movements can lead to widespread physical damage to sensitive landscapes and geodiversity, as can the intensive use of explosive ordnance.”
https://ceobs.org/how-does-war-damage-the-environment/
War Kills All Creatures
Even low-level human conflict can drive dramatic wildlife declines.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/animal-cost-of-war-180967806/
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