Save the Earth/Abolish War - Conference and Competition

A Conference in Central London on Saturday 29 June, organised by the Movement for the Abolition of War, (MAW) will examine the theme of militarism and the environment. The morning sessions will concentrate on how war and preparation for war accelerate climate change. In the afternoon, the focus is on the abolition of war, drawing on past initiatives.

The speakers will be Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for the South West of England and Gibraltar, Dr Peter van den Dungen, International Network of Museums for Peace, and Dr Stuart Parkinson, Scientists for Global Responsibility.

2019 is a momentous year - 120th anniversary of the First Hague Peace Conference (1899) and the 20th anniversary of the Hague Appeal for Peace (HAP, 1999) - which gave birth to MAW. And it is also 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing of 1969, when the view of Planet Earth from space astonished humankind.

Bruce Kent, President of MAW and Vice President of CND, said: "The elephant in the kitchen when it comes to Climate Change is clearly the world's military. The world spends something like two trillion US dollars a year on its military. At least half of that vast sum goes on military production with a massive CO2 output. The military are both a major cause of climate change and hence, of the conflicts which result from the movement of peoples as deserts spread."

Stephen Kretzmann, Director of Oil Change International, said: "If we're going to win on climate we have to make sure we are counting carbon completely, not exempting different things like military emissions because it is politically inconvenient to count them. The atmosphere certainly counts the carbon from the military, therefore we must as well."

Essay Competition 2019

MAW invites school students in years 10-13 to take part in an essay competition, submitting from 500 to 1000 words on "Walking on the moon, still warring on earth."

It is now 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing of 1969. When the astronauts looked back home, their comments highlighted the beauty and fragility of planet Earth - our common home. How petty and stupid humankind's divisions on earth, wreaking destruction and involving mass slaughter, appeared from a distance. With our knowledge of climate change, the vulnerability of 'spaceship Earth', and the essential unity of all its inhabitants, has only become more obvious. And yet the means of destruction are proliferating and precious resources are squandered in preparing and waging ever more destructive wars.

What is the significance of the moon landing for world peace? A dream as old as humanity, and which for a long time was held to be beyond its grasp, was realised when people started believing it could be done and made a determined effort to make it happen. Is the abolition of war, another old and cherished dream, beyond our reach?

Details: There will be three prizes of £50 Book Tokens, and presentations will be made on 29th June 2019, during MAW's Day Conference "Save the Earth, Abolish War" in London. MAW will publish the winning essays on the MAW website.

Entry is open to school students in years 10-13, and essays of between 500 and 1000 words entitled "Walking on the moon, still warring on earth" must be emailed as an attachment to MAW at essay@abolishwar.co.uk to arrive on or before Wednesday 29th May 2019.
Please include age, parental contact details and the name and address of the school/college/academy attended.

See further details at: www.abolishwar.org.uk/

MAW DVD - Conflict and Climate Change www.abolishwar.org.uk/store/p3/Conflict_and_Climate_Change_DVD_and_booklet.html