What I find miraculous is that Veterans’ Day is not designated as a day to look under rocks for surviving war perpetrators and profiteers and assemble them for a special ceremony. This annual Roach Roundup would culminate at the landfill nearest to Arlington National Cemetery with the requisite number of fair (but brief) trials, hangings and burials in situ of the accused. This isn’t much, I know, but it would be at least a token of justice for the families, friends and loved ones of dead and disabled American Veterans.

Not one of the NeoCon chicken hawks who brought us the glories and delights of Iraq and Bumfuckistan ever served in the U.S. Military in Viet Nam or any other “theater”.

As Americans, our objective should be to honor our warriors without glorifying war. The real objective should be to NOT have a war. The politicians who promote war for the benefit of their donors and masters should lead the troops into the Valley of Death. If they really believe the war is necessary, they should offer their own children as cannon fodder alongside the kids of the working stiffs.

Also, if certain oil companies, “defense contractors”, banksters, and other merchants of death want to conquer and occupy any other territory (read Natural Resources) here is my suggestion. Hire Blackwater and the other mercenaries directly – on YOUR dime. Leave the U.S. government, taxpayers and military personnel out of the picture. You bastards can hog all the fun.

My brother Peter enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1969. He left his youth in Quang Tri Province, Viet Nam in 1970. Thanks to Agent Orange and landmines his health has declined ever since. While it is difficult, painful and pointless to hang a price tag on certain things, a guy with the intellect, personality and talent of my brother, Peter, has paid at least the equivalent of a few million bucks for his bronze star and his learned wisdom.

He has lost far too much and I am deprived of the pleasure of his company.

From the Impending Book: Wimps, Pimps and Pissed Off Patriots

Copyright © 2009-2011 James D. Kirk, Jr.

The majority of military veterans at this time are those who served in the Vietnam War. These are followed by those who served in the Iraq War. Both of these groups of soldiers returned home with unique medical issues caused by the war. Support for treatment of these disorders was often hit and miss, although it has improved. Here is a list of the most common problems among today’s veterans.

Homelessness – While homelessness is not a disease by itself, many of the homeless are that way because of various diseases. Illness can be devastating to family, relationships and the ability to earn a living. Without the ability to hold down a job, health care and follow up is very limited. Diseases are not treated and begin to become more severe. Many of the homeless have a combination of mental disorders and physical conditions that make it impossible for them to follow a regimen to improve their health without close supervision. A lack of money is also a big issue. Lack of needed medications, food and shelter are all great problems. Given a choice between treating the homeless and other groups, the homeless group is almost always last.

Mental Illness – The number of troops coming home with mental illnesses has risen greatly. Perhaps related to the use of modern ordinance or tactics, many troops are returning home with Post Trauma Shock Disorder. Sometimes this condition does not show up right away, making it difficult for a veteran to receive needed treatment. Other common mental conditions are depression and the inability to engage with normal society after time in the military. Often overlooked in the past, these illnesses are becoming more accepted and treated in society.

Drug Use – For whatever reason, perhaps mental distress, the troops from the Vietnam era have a higher rate of drug problems. Many began drug use while in the military due to boredom, distress or simply the availability of the drugs. Not being able to stop the drug use, this prevents many of the veterans from being successful in regular life. Drug use prevents the user from access to many government services, yet for the veteran drug use may be directly related to their service.

Exposure to substances during the war – Clearly a military campaign is not the safest environment. During wars, groups of soldiers are often exposed to diseases or compounds that cause medical issues for a lifetime. Since it often takes time to realize these trends, many veterans wind up not getting the proper care. Examples are Vietnam Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange. This substance has been linked to nine different cancers that are supported by the Veterans Administration. Other possible diseases include various nervous and muscle conditions. From the Iraq War, lung conditions seem to be more common. Among fireman, lung conditions including cancer seem to relate to exposure to oil well fires. Another major problem is asbestos leading to mesothelioma among the Vietnam soldiers. Iraq War Syndrome is still under study and we have yet to see what the current soldiers will bring home.

Recovery from Severe Injuries – Due to advances in medicine, soldiers are recovering from severe injuries at a record rate. This is a good thing; but most of these veterans will need lifetime follow up for their conditions and this is a new problem for veteran care. Many of the wounded are young, and can be expected to live at least 30 or more years. Providing this length of support is new to veteran care.

Lastly, the increasing numbers of women veterans present new challenges to veteran’s care that veteran hospitals are beginning to staff up to handle. Clearly, the care of the veteran is a very multifaceted field.

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The dangerous chemicals most commonly linked to the Vietnam War are napalm and Agent Orange. Napalm-B, or “super napalm,” was one form of the weapon that was used in Vietnam. It is composed of low-octane gas, benzene, and polystyrene. This version of napalm is stronger than the original composition and will burn for up to 10 minutes rather than 15-30 seconds, developing a characteristic smell. It causes 2nd degree burns, which are the most painful and lead to horrible scars. It can kill by immolation and asphyxiation (GlobalSecurity.org – Reliable Security Information). Kim Phuc only survived the attack because she tore off her burning clothes and Nick Ut rushed her to a hospital, insisting that she be treated. She remained in the hospital for 14 months. During that time, she went through 17 surgeries, including multiple skin grafts, because only 35% of her skin wasn’t horribly burned (Yerman). The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) banned the use of napalm against civilians in 1980. Unfortunately, it is still allowed in warfare unless a country agrees to protocol III, which restricts the use of incendiary weapons. The United States is part of the CCW, but has not signed protocol III.

Along with the massive amounts of napalm sprayed and fired, the U.S. military also sprayed 20,000,000 gallons of different herbicides to wipe out vegetation and crops in Vietnam. The different combinations are identified by the color of the stripe on the drum in which they were kept. The most common of the chemical combinations was Agent Orang, used from January of 1965 to April 1970 in central and southern Vietnam. There were an estimated 4.8 million Vietnamese civilians living in the sprayed areas, which doesn’t account for any soldiers or civilians travelling through the area (War Legacies Project).

In December of 1979, Congress directed the Department of Veteran Affairs to conduct a large-scale study to find out if Agent Orange caused health problems in Vietnam veterans. After three years of inability to effectively research the problem, the study was switched to the Centers for Disease Control. After several years, the study was declared inconclusive solely because there wasn’t any documentation of veterans who were definitely exposed to Agent Orange. Because of this, the study had to be cancelled. The Department of Veteral Affairs later contracted with the Institute of Medicine to create a historical exposure model. The VA stated, “Based on the IOM assessment of this model and other factors, VA will determine whether it provides an adequate scientific basis for large-scale epidemiologic studies in Vietnam veterans” (Department of Veteran Affairs).

Another study was done in the ’90s concerning lung cancer among Vietnam veterans due to concerns about Agent Orange exposure. 329 Vietnam veterans who had been diagnosed with lung cancer from 1983-1990 were selected off the VA’s Patient Treatment File (PTF). 269 veterans were also chosen off the PTF who weren’t hospitalized for cancer, and 111 veterans were chosen who had colon cancer. According to the VA, “Researchers found increased lung cancer mortality in Vietnam veterans” (Department of Veteran Affairs).

The Department of Veteran Affairs has done numerous studies concerning Agent Orange exposure and possible links to different health problems. Many came back with negative results, including an increase of birth defects. This contrasts with the thousands of birth defects in reaction to dioxin exposure in Vietnam. There are still remnants of the chemicals flowing through their water and in their soil, so not only are veterans’ children being exposed and harmed by the dioxins, but their grand-children, as well (Agent Orange Letters Project).

Dow, Monsanto, Diamond Shamrock Corporation, Hercules Inc., Uniroyal Inc., T-H Agricultural & Nutrition Company, and Thompson Chemicals Corporation were all manufacturers of the Agent Orange commissioned by the United States military for use in the Vietnam War (Agent Orange FAQ). In 1979, there was a class action lawsuit filed against all of them, titled MDL 381, which was settled out of court in 1985 for $180 million. The profits were to be used as a fund for 2.4 million veterans that the class action was supposed to include. Unfortunately, many victims either didn’t know of the settlement or hadn’t developed illnesses linking them to Agent Orange exposure by 1994, which was the cut-off date to receive settlement funds. Many claims have been filed by American veterans since then, which will award them with benefits from the Department of Veteran Affairs. Claims have also been made by Vietnamese veterans and the Vietnamese government, but none of them have been settled as of yet (Online Lawyer Source).

“I should forget it. But the thing about remembering is that you don’t forget. You take your material where you find it, which is in your life, at the intersection of past and present” (O’Brien 34). Thankfully, there are veterans who are able to tell the stories other veterans experienced. Through their stories and others’ willingness to help, there are groups such as the Agent Orange Letters Project and The Veterans Support Foundation to aid the people who need it. Not every victim of the chemical warfare used in the Vietnam War will get settlements to help them, but there are several people who gladly support those people who need it.

Amazingly they did call me! I was so shocked but was very happy they called, and started telling them that my husband had sent in at least 3 and possibly 5 times a complete file to the ratings department and they said they never received it.  Now what is so funny is the fact that we had the files time stamped each time they were submitted.  They were time stamped at the door in the VA regional office, now how close do you have to be in order to get the file to them?  I explained to him the hell my husband and I had been through for the last 40 months and we got a partial decision from the AMC (Appeals Management Center) and we are still waiting on the rest of the decision which is now 3 years and 5 months.  I proceeded to tell him that we wanted to get at least the back pay appeal done as soon as possible but we can’t pull the file, and if we do pull the file for just that part we will then be put at the bottom of the pile and lose where we are at.  We can’t even find out what number we are in the pile or how long it will take.  They gave me a ridiculous time of 2 to 3 years from now a decision will be made. I told him how I have the Senator’s office trying to get information and that their hands are tied and can’t get anything accomplished with the VA.  I even read him a letter that was sent from the Senator’s office showing their frustration with the VA process and the limited power they have to get any answers.  He had a hard time believing what I was telling him and I told him fine don’t believe me call these people!

I know that he called at least the Senator’s office and they confirmed what I told him. My biggest problem is that he didn’t call the people I gave him that are on the ground dealing with these problems.  He needed to hear what is really happening and not a bunch of people that are slacking on their work and jobs.  He needs to talk to the Veteran Service officers that are helping these veterans. He needs to see how the states Veterans offices are more of a problem than the whole system.  I had so much to say and forgot to tell him everything on my mind and we even talked for over an hour and a half.  To this day I haven’t seen any changes or any of them coming down to see what is really going on.

Here is the problems I have seen and witnessed in the 41 months of trying to get what is due to my husband.  Losing files, can’t find files, rating team not trained properly with the Nexus, Lexus and rating diseases, injuries, and PTSD.  Getting the DOD to send the documentation needed for the VA, communication with the 1800 number is a laugh and should be discontinued, due to useless information and no information on your case is available.  I guess it is used for the purpose of having a live voice say I don’t know.  Ratings are never what they should be right off the bat you have to go through 3 different types of Appeals in order to get the full rating you deserve.  The stall tactics used when a Veteran is terminal so they don’t have to pay.    

Here is a prime example of this situation, my husband and I know a Viet Nam Vet and he is dying, he has maybe 3 years left to live and the cancer he has was from the Agent Orange that was dumped close to his ship.  He now is terminal and needs the benefits and a higher disability rating because of the exposure the military had caused due to the dumping.  The VSO knew he was terminal and sent the records and appeal directly to Washington DC, for expediting the claim, which is done because of the time element being so critical.  Well our wonderful State agency demanded the file back to their office and took it out of Washington D.C. He got a call from the State telling him that they are in charge now and that it would take at least 2 to 3 years for a decision.  He said why? Why do I have to wait so long and why are you doing the case.  They had taken it away from the VSO and they got rid of the one person that understood the laws, got us what we deserve and has fought for every Veteran she has come in contact with.  Of course they get rid of the person that does a good job! 

Here is my suggestion to the VA and the committees!  Set up a website, since you like to spend money, let’s spend it on what the Veterans think of the State agencies, State VA, their VSO, and the Ratings division.  While you’re at it let’s do a complaint area where the Veteran can let you know who the bad seeds are.  Let’s get in touch guys!  You are playing with the lives of the people that have protected us.  You have sent them to places where chemicals, bio-chemicals, and dirty bombs are used.  You expect them to protect us, let’s give them a little bit of quality to their lives since they have suffered and protected us! 

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Lethal legacy he left an American army in Vietnam – by spreading Agent Orange defoliants and other chemicals during the war – began to feel barely a few decades: many of those who were exposed to PCBs suffer if today devastating effects, with poor health and giving birth to children with birth defects.

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. army has spread generously around 77 million gallons of chemical defoliants in South Vietnam. The aim was to reduce the dense jungle, causing defoliation in a fast drying and leaves hair so that communist guerrillas have no where to hide and run out of natural foods. At that time, the U.S. government provides everyone with a big mouth that these chemicals are 100% harmless to humans. In reality, herbicides contained one of the most virulent poisons to man – a dioxin called TCCD.

In the years after the war ended, studies began to reveal the true effects that Agent Orange had on people: 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to PCBs, 400,000 of them died due to contamination, 500,000 children with malformations have was born to exposed parents.

Today, five out of 100 Vietnamese children are born with physical or mental defects. In 2003, U.S. implicitly recognized the devastating effects of chemical warfare, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs began to pay compensation to Vietnamese mothers for each child born with one or more of the 18 malformations that cause dioxin.

Information overload

Here is a couple of everyday questions asked about the Korean War, ANZUS and SEATO alliance.

• Please explain why there were two Korea’s (north and south) after the end of WWII

There were two Korea’s (north and south) because the Russians controlled the North and the US controlled the south.

•  Is the republic of Korea known as North or South Korea?

The republic of Korea was known as South Korea.

• What event began the Korea war in 1950?

North Korea invaded South Korea

•   Why did other countries such as the USA and Australia get involved in the Korean war?

They got involved because the Republic of Korea sought assistance by the United Nations.

•  Why did most Australians at home support our involvement in the Korean War?

They supported the Korean War because they believed that if we did not stop North Korea they would eventually invade Australia and turn Australia into a Communist Country.

 Which side won the Korean War?

The North side won the war

•  What does ANZUS stand for?

It means Australian, NewZealand and United states treaty.

•  Why did Australia join ANZUS?

They feared North Korea would invade Australia if not stopped.

ANZUS was made as an alliance to fight the North Koreans, SEATO was made as agreement to stop the spread of communism and make communism look less appealing.

I hope this has been informative

Although many advances in military technology have been focused on finding ways to keep soldiers out of harms way, either by removing them from the line of fire and replacing a once manned gun system by one which is computer controlled or by strengthening armor on vehicles to better resist IED explosions. These advances don’t make much of a difference when it comes to the environment; a computer-controlled gun has the same environmental impact as a manned system. There have however, been at least some advances, which have had a significant effect on the amount of damage that would be sustained by the environment during war. Whether these changes reduce or increase environmental damage is the question, which will be examined throughout the course of this essay.

The argument that improvements in military technology have done more harm than good to the environment is not unfounded, indeed there have been a great many developments, which seem to blatantly disregard the fact that wars are almost always fought in places where people have to live afterwards. The best example perhaps being the Vietnam War, in which the development and use of defoliants not only led to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of acres of forest but also substantial damage to the soil chemistry, displacement or extinction of local fauna, and carcinogenic effect felt by the local population.  The extent of the damage was so severe that defoliants have not been used in warfare since.  But was this seemingly blatant disregard for the environment intentional? The answer is that it is unclear whether or not the United States government was aware of the problems associated with the infamous Agent Orange at the time of its use. But evidence suggests that they were not aware at the time what the long-term effects would be. This is significant because in one of the biggest examples of the military having a detrimental effect on the environment they did not intentionally go out to destroy the environment. The destruction was secondary factor; collateral damage to doing what they thought had to be done with the tools available to them at the time.

This raises the question of whether or not it was the advance in technology, which is to blame for the environmental degradation or is it the lack of technology that could accurately tell us what the effects of this new advance would be? If we take something away from this example it should be that Agent Orange in itself did not destroy hundred of thousands of acres of wilderness the men who decided to use it did. Agent Orange was a tool and had that tool not been available they would have used other means, and in fact they did use bulldozers in some places. So while the advance in technology led to a different way of destroying the environment, the men who made the decision to use it were just as content destroying forest by other means less technologically advanced.

 Another aspect of military technology, which is constantly being advanced, is the use of heavy armor. Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and portable defense systems have been around since long before world war two but their constant improvement and continued use would classify them as an advance in military technology. But the environmental problem with these vehicles isn’t what you might think. The problem doesn’t come from what your opponent fears on the battlefield, instead the harm comes from the damage these multi ton vehicles do from simply driving. Treads and wheels from these heavy vehicles damages the soil, erodes the land, kills wildlife, crushes dens, damages vegetation, and creates a lot of noise that disturbs local animal populations.  Many people claim that these things have an effect on the environment, which is severely detrimental. But again, it isn’t necessarily the advance in military technology, which is doing the harm. As was mentioned earlier tanks have been around at least since world war one and while there have been many advances in their design none of these advances have been to the area where the track meets the ground, and a tank from world war one would likely do as much damage to the environment as a modern one. The areas where there has been improvement have been in the sophistication of the gun, targeting system, and armor. What these advances mean is that they will be more accurate, and harder to defeat which means that you will need less of them to accomplish the same task. So while tanks now are just as damaging to the environment as tanks of previous generations the improvements in technology added to the tanks means that less are needed for training and on the battlefield which results in less environmental degradation.

It is also important to note that there is a hidden benefit to the military use of heavy armor that negates what little destructive effect it nay have. This benefit is that large amounts of land used for training is put aside by the government and is therefore protected both from civilian development and civilian traffic. In fact in developed countries it is the military, which is one of the most important protectors of undeveloped land.  This is because large amounts of open land are put aside for things like firing ranges, training grounds for troops, and of course training areas for heavy armor. If this land were not put aside it would likely be used for either agricultural purposes or bought by developers who would have built something more destructive to the area. Instead this land is put aside by the military and is hugely beneficial to the wilderness because it is used infrequently so while it does get disturbed and some may argue destroyed other would rightly argue that it gets less disturbed than it would had the military not put it aside for training use and less destroyed by the military than if the military didn’t use it for training and a road or housing development was built instead.

Perhaps the best example of an area benefiting form military protection is in the Korean Demilitarized Zone and Civilian Control Zone. This area that separates South Korea from its neighbor to the north is a protected military area in which no civilians are allowed. This area has in the years after the conflict has not only served its purposes militarily but it has also become a refuge for endangered species and has some of the most preserved habitat of the entire Korean peninsula.  Had it not been for the military and military action this land would almost certainly be either destroyed or developed by now, killing or displacing hundred of species many of which are endangered.

The use of depleted uranium munitions during the gulf war is another good example of a military innovation, which some would argue is likely to cause more harm than good, although its full effects are still not known initial studies suggest that depleted uranium munitions are responsible for increased rates of birth defects in areas where depleted uranium was used. The reason for this being that 90 percent of all depleted uranium munitions miss there designated target and end up in the environment as a result. Once in the environment they are exposed to air and moisture, which then starts the chemical decomposition of depleted uranium into the soils and water table where contamination results. Once this occurs the chemical toxins can prevent foliage from growing and can harm wildlife drinking water after it has been contaminated.

There can be no doubt that the use of depleted uranium munitions is harmful to the environment. But does the positive effects of the use of depleted uranium munitions outweigh the negative? At this point in time it is difficult to tell. Yes, advances in targeting have made these rounds hit their mark with accuracy never before seen, but that isn’t because depleted uranium is more accurate than lead. So the important question is if depleted uranium can destroy its target using fewer rounds is its environmental impact less than if a greater number of conventional round were used. To answer this question we have to look at the two main areas where depleted uranium munitions are used tanks and the Vulcan machine gun from the A-10. While the depleted uranium round fired from tanks are likely beneficial to the environment because they cut down on the number of conventional rounds needed to take out a tank and subsequently reduce the number of tanks needed on the ground because their guns are more effective. The A-10 and its Vulcan machine gun are not as accurate and this is where the 90 percent miss rate comes in. It is safe to say that with a 90 percent miss rate the environmental impact would be lessened if conventional munitions were used, but in the future if targeting advances further this could be the opposite way around.

The argument that advances in military technology have benefited the environment is also one which has it’s fare share of supporters and a good deal of evidence to back them up. There have in fact been many advances in military technology that have been helpful to the environment especially when you consider their less technologically superior counterparts. One advance Laser guided missiles, have greatly increased the accuracy of air to ground attacks and at the same time they have cut down on the amount of bombs that would have needed to be dropped. This is beneficial to the environment because if we wanted a bridge destroyed during the Vietnam war for example we would have to drop hundreds of bombs and hope that one of them would hit their target, many of them did not however, and what we would end up with was a landscape that was pot marked and destroyed. But because of the advances in targeting we can now hit that same target with one or two laser guided missiles. This keeps hundreds of acres of land from getting needlessly destroyed along with any flora or fauna that happened to be living there at the time.

Cluster bombs, bombs which prior to detonation split apart into many smaller bombs before impact are another important military technology which many would claim contribute to the degradation of the environment. The reason being that many of these bomblets after separation with the parent bomb fail to explode. They then are left in the ground and pose a hazard to both people and animals. However advance in military technology are trying to solve the problem of unexploded munitions in cluster weapons and have had some success so far.

In conclusion, although the military is not the most environmentally friendly organization in the world, it does do a lot to aid in the protection of lands, which in turn gives flora and fauna a place to strive with only intermittent disruption. Without this protection from the military it is more likely that the land would be bought and completely destroyed by civilian use. In addition these advances in military technology, has brought a significant reduction in the number of tanks and bombs needed to perform the same task as would be needed prior to these advances in technology coming about. This in turn benefits the environment by cutting down on the amount of destructive force goes into the environment as a result of war. And although the military has used Agent Orange and other chemicals detrimental to the environment in the past these events are not frequent occurrences and once the extent of the damage is realized the military stops using it. Whether this is because the military actually cares about the environment or only about what people think is irrelevant, part of the military’s job is to keep people having a favorable impression of them so that during a war they are not seen as the enemy. And part of keeping that image is not destroying areas where people have to live everywhere they go, so it is in the benefit of the military to have as little an environmental impact as possible.

Many a species: one alone

Jeopardizes itself.”

-W.H. Auden

The use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam Conflict was one of the worst examples of blatant disregard for human life and the environment in history. Agent Orange was a defoliant made by Dow Chemical for the U.S. military, one of many “rainbow herbicides” used during the Vietnam War to reveal enemy positions. They got their names from the colored stripes painted on the fifty-five gallon barrels used to identify them. The scary thing is, that the entire disaster could have been avoided, as the government knew of the dangers to humans before this poison’s wide use as a defoliant.

Agent Orange is one of a variety of defoliants, known as the “rainbow herbicides” because of the colored stripes on their containment barrels, used during the Vietnam War. These herbicides include Agent Orange, Agent Purple, Agent Pink, Agent Green, Agent Blue, and Agent White. All of the agents, excluding Agents Blue and White, which were arsenic based, contained the deadly chemical, known as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin, found in Agent Orange that caused all of the health effects. Surprisingly, Agent Orange was actually the weakest of the defoliants, containing only 13 parts per million (PPM) of the chemical. Agent Purple contained 45 PPM of the dioxin and, in an amazing display of disregard for human health; Agents Pink and Green were almost entirely composed of the deadly toxin. Effectively, this means that the deadly, horrifying, Agent Orange that still shocks us today was over three times less concentrated than Agent Purple and nearly eight times weaker than Agents Pink and Green. Fortunately, Agents Pink and Green were only used during early testing trials from 1962 until 1964. Agent Purple, on the other hand, is a totally different story.

Although not used as widely as Agent Orange, Agent Purple was used fairly generously. Side effects are nearly identical to those of Agent Orange, which include soft-tissue sarcoma, Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and diabetes as well as over one hundred and twenty five other physical and mental conditions believed to be caused by the toxic dioxin contained in most of the rainbow herbicides. This list includes such maladies as nearly every type of cancer known to man, post traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, ALS, also known as Lou Gherigs Disease, and horrifying birth defects in the children of people exposed to the toxin. These defects can range from simple skin defects to missing or extra limbs.

Not only did the military and the Agent Orange makers know of its danger to humans and the environment, they also willing and knowingly made it twenty five times as strong as necessary. Remember, that’s Agent Orange, the weakest of the group. Therefore, if you do the math, that makes Agent Purple seventy five times too strong, and Agent Pink and Green almost two hundred times too strong. Is it really any wonder that these chemicals do such horrendous things to our bodies?

Agents Blue and White are the least known of the herbicides used in Vietnam. This is because they are made of a mixture of two arsenic based compounds, Na-dimethyl arsenate and dimethyl arsenic acid. Therefore, although still toxic, as they also contain high levels of cyanide, they don’t contain the deadly 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin, and consequently does not cause the shocking health effects the others do. This is not to say that any of the herbicides used during Vietnam were harmless, only some were less than others. In fact, Agents Blue and White are still used today as weed killers on golf courses, community parks, and some residential lawns. They are, however, believed to possibly be a carcinogen, although not as strong as Agent Orange or the others.

Most people believe that Agent Orange, or any of the other herbicides from Vietnam, were never used outside of Vietnam. They are wrong. Agent Orange was actually tested near a military base outside of Gagetown, Canada, the residents of which promptly developed cancer after the spraying. It was also used at Innisfall, Australia in testing trials. However the files about “Operation Desert” as it was called, have supposedly been lost. And not even the United States is safe. In 1969 the U.S. Forest Service sprayed millions of gallons of it outside Globe, Arizona to decrease plant overgrowth and increase water runoff. One woman who was affected by it wrote the book Sue the Bastards! about her experience. In it she claims that after being exposed to the spray, she experienced temporary blindness and skin irritation, and later developed, and died from, cancer presumed to be caused by Agent Orange. In 1966 several 55-gallon drums filled with Agent Orange were discovered in a BIA storage facility on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. Not surprisingly the inhabitants of the reservation have an unusually high rate of cancer.

The victims of Agent Orange exposure aren’t staying quiet. People in Vietnam, South Korea, Canada, and Australia have all filed lawsuits against the U.S. government and the makers of Agent Orange. On January 31, 2004, the Vietnamese Association for victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin filed a lawsuit against Dow Chemical, Monsanto Chemical and many other companies, most of which the lead makers of Agent Orange. On March 10, 2005, a U.S. judge dismissed the case, stating that under international law of the time when Agent Orange was used, it was not considered a poison, and that the companies who supplied the chemical are not liable for the way their government used it. In 1999 a large group of nearly 20,000 South Koreans filed lawsuits against Agent Oranges makers. This time the judge ruled in their favor, stating that by making the chemical stronger than necessary, the companies failed to ensure safety. Again in 2005 1100 Canadians living in and around Gagetown filed a lawsuit. The case has yet to be resolved.

Agent Orange is a testimony to mankind’s self-destructive destiny. There is a poem by W.H. Auden that reads:

“Fate succumbs

Many a species: one alone

Jeopardizes itself.”

Agent orange is just one way that men jeopardize their own well-being. And yet one thing the poem does not mention is that we do not contain our destructiveness to our own species, we tend to pill over and devastate others. Agent Orange again illustrates this, as it not only affected hundreds of thousands of people, but devastated the environment as well. With dioxins in the soil and water plants will still not grow on farm or forest land to this day. On top of that, there is little to no effort being put to try to restore the ecosystem. And with how long the dioxins in the rainbow herbicides last, sometime, millions and millions of years hence, after humans have finally and permanently destroyed them selves once and for all there will still be traces of them devastating the environment, a tribute to the careless civilization that created them.

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During the 1940s, Hooker Chemical and Plastics Corporation used Love Canal, a sparsely populated area located in Niagara Falls New York, as a chemical dump site lining it with impermeable concrete. However, residential and school constructions in the 1950s resulted in many breaches of the protective lining, gradually seeping out toxic wastes into the soil polluting the groundwater and the air. Of the 240 buried chemicals that had been identified, eleven were suspected carcinogens, notably benzene, which can cause serious health problems. According to a report, the residents were stricken with a disturbingly high rate of miscarriages, birth defects, nervous disorders and cancers. Love Canal has become a testimony to one of the greatest human blunders and of the constant need for seeking environmentally safe ways of managing toxic waste.

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

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In 1986, one of the reactors of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine exploded due to an experiment gone horribly wrong, reactor design defects and total disregard of safety measures. Considered to be the worst ever nuclear power accident, the explosion spewed out large amounts of radioactive particles that spread over parts of western former Soviet Union, Europe, and eastern North America. It caused major economic losses and raised serious environmental concerns that include the long-term effects of radiation exposure not only on people’s health but also on the region’s agriculture, food consumption, aquatic systems, and flora and fauna. Birth deformities and respiratory-related deaths among the very young and the elderly have been estimated to be in the tens of thousands and are believed to be attributable to this particular event.

Bhopal Disaster

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A dangerous chemical reaction occurred when water leaked into a storage tank of Union Carbide resulting in an explosion that released around 43 tons of methyl isocyanate, a highly toxic gas, contaminating the air and water of the city of Bhopal in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in 1984. Primary causes of what can be regarded as one of the worst industrial environmental disasters on record included safety rules leniency and lack of equipment maintenance due to cost cutting measures. Around 20,000 have died due to exposure in the next 20 years since the tragedy; and still more than 100,000 are being poisoned and suffering from debilitating diseases today due to inadequate cleanup.

Prestige Oil Spill

Image sourcePrestige was the name of a Greek-ran single-hulled oil tanker that did not live up to its name. In 2002, the tanker’s seaworthiness was so severely compromised by bad weather that the captain sought to dock at nearby harbors. But the Spanish, French and Portuguese government refused to allow its entry into their ports for fear of contamination of their coastlines. The ship eventually split in two and sank off the Galician coast gradually spilling 74,000 tons of heavy fuel oil into the sea. More than half of the 1,000 beaches along Spanish and French Atlantic coast were affected; about 100,000 birds died particularly the Guillemot, Razorbill and Puffin; and coral reefs, many species of sharks and other marine life are still slowly being poisoned. The spill is the largest environmental disaster in the history of Europe.

Baia Mare Cyanide Disaster

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Gold cyanidation is a very common metallurgical process that uses cyanide, a highly poisonous substance, for extracting gold from mineral ores. This highly controversial method enables miners to remove the last remnants of gold and silver from discarded mine tailings. In 2000, a rupture from a defective tailings dam of a gold mining operation of the Australian-Romanian joint venture AURUL in Baia Mare Romania sent tons of heavy metal wastes and around 120,000 cubic meters of water saturated with cyanide into the Somes, Tisza and Danube rivers resulting in massive devastation of aquatic life, especially in neighboring Hungary and Serbia. Thanks to speedy response of the Romanian authorities, no casualties were reported except for a few children who were hospitalized for eating fishes from affected rivers. Shortly after the accident, cyanide levels were found to be 700 times and 300 times above pollution standards in nearby river water and in Hungary, respectively. Copper and zinc concentrations exceeded the pollution threshold many times as well.

Southern Leyte Mudslide

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In February 2006, a deadly rockslide-debris avalanche befell my fellow Filipino compatriots in Southern Leyte province of the Philippines following more than a week long heavy rains and a minor earthquake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale causing widespread destruction and loss of life. Loose rock and soil debris buried the mountain village of Guinsaugon in the town of Saint Bernard including an entire elementary school of around 250 students in session. Around 200 had been confirmed dead but more than 1,500 are still missing to this day. Deforestation of the area by illegal loggers and extensive mining in the area three decades earlier had taken its toll, and together with the heavy rains and earthquake created the perfect combination for such a disaster to happen. Indeed, this was a very disturbing result of irresponsible exploitation of the earth’s natural resources.

Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

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War positively has damaging effects on our environment. Whether the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 and Nagasaki three days later are justified or not is still very much debated today. But one thing for sure, it led to the surrender of the once militaristic nation of Japan, officially ending World War II. It was estimated that around 140,000 and 70,000 died from radiation poisoning and burns in Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively in 1945 alone. Who knows how many thousand more have died from injuries and sickness attributable to radiation exposure released by the bombs in the succeeding decades.

Agent Orange

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Between 1961 and 1971, during the Vietnam Conflict, the United States military under its Herbicidal Warfare Program sprayed more than 10 million gallons of Agent Orange, a potent defoliant and herbicide containing dioxin, over large areas of South Vietnam to destroy forests and crops that provided cover for Viet Cong guerrillas. Dioxin exposure, whether directly or indirectly through ingestion of food grown on affected soil, has been linked to a variety of cancers, blood and nerve disorders. Increased occurrence of birth defects, infant death, mental retardation and childhood cancers in the area have been noted. This herbicide is still causing indescribable sufferings to war veterans and civilians more than 3 decades after the conclusion of Vietnam War.

Landmines

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Landmines are devices designed to explode in the presence or contact of any moving object. There are around 100 million of these explosive devices entrenched into the ground during conflicts all over the world, particularly in Southeast Asia, South America and Africa. They are not only murderers and maimers of innocent civilians long after conflicts have ceased; they have also contributed to the destruction of wildlife, resulting in disruption to a region’s ecological balance. Due to fear, arable lands are left untilled, depriving people of livelihood. In time, their corrosion and possible leakage of heavy metals and toxic substances will pollute rivers and degrade soil.

Global Warming

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Global Warming is one issue that has raised much concern today. There is no longer any question about who’s to blame for our current predicament. There is mounting evidence that human carelessness toward nature have resulted in the increase of the Earth’s average temperature due to steadily rising concentration of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, since the Industrial Revolution took effect in the late eighteenth century. Not only that, global warming has dreadful consequences, which have become more apparent in recent years; they include rapidly melting polar ice caps that cause sea levels to rise; increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events (floods, droughts, super typhoons, etc); mass specie extinctions; and widespread epidemics, among others. Although not all these events can be directly traced to global warming, but many scientists are convinced that they will become more frequent, should the world’s temperature continue to increase.

More history articles:

• Mighty Women
• Warrior Women
• Man-made Environmental Disasters
• Rocks and Stones with Historical, Cultural and Religious Significance
• Famous Teen Deaths
• Birthday Deaths
• Famous Holocaust Survivors
• Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 1
• Heroes of the Holocaust & Their Stories of Courage 2
• 10 Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (More) Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (Ultimate) Bizarre Deaths in History