ABSTRACT

The Fight to Save the Planet: U.S. Armed Forces, "Greenkeeping," and Enforcement of the Law Pertaining to Environmental Protection During Armed Conflict

By Rymn James Parsons

This article discusses the use of the environment as a weapon and target of war. The author concludes that if environmental damage during armed conflict is not restrained the armed forces that are intended to protect us from harm may become the agents of our ultimate destruction. To help stem the tide of ecological catastrophe in war, international law must place enforceable limits on unjustified environmental damage, that is, damage not militarily necessary. The solution to the problem must be interdisciplinary, a melding of the law of armed conflict, humanitarian law, and international law. This article looks at the customary law of war, modern humanitarian law conventions and international environmental law, examines the impact of armed conflict on the environment, the diminishing capacity of the earth to absorb environmental catastrophes, and the resulting need for new environmental rights and legal protections, and then considers whether a new convention to protect the environment during armed conflict is likely in the foreseeable future, analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of existing law and finally discusses the use of armed forces as a means to deter, prevent and punish unjustified environmental damage during armed conflict.