While the COP26 conference itself was a major COPOUT, vastly more people now know and care about military climate destruction. The truth is, militarism is a top destroyer of more than the Earth’s climate. For the full story, we have to look at the impact of wars ion soil, air, and water — on our economies and on society.
World BEYOND War is now accepting registrations for its upcoming six-week online course, which will begin in mid-January 2020. The course will survey the environmental impact of militarism and the range of nonviolent activism being done for peace and planet. The course work will be done on your schedule, at your own convenience, apart from a few optional Zoom calls.
Grounded in research on peace and ecological security, this course focuses on the relationship between two existential threats: war and environmental catastrophe.
Topics for the six weeks are as follows:
Week 1: Where Wars Happen and Why
Week 2: What Wars Do to the Earth
Week 3: What Imperial Militaries Do to the Earth Back Home
Week 4: What Nuclear Weapons Have Done and Could Do
Week 5: How This Horror Is Hidden and Maintained
Week 6: What Can Be Done to Prevent — and Abolish — War
This course is 100% online and interactions are not live or scheduled, so you can take part whenever works for you. Weekly content includes a mix of text, images, video, and audio. Instructors and students utilize online discussion forums to go over each week’s content, as well as to provide feedback on optional assignment submissions.
Here is an introduction to the 2020 course:
The course also includes three optional 1-hour Zoom calls that are designed to facilitate a more interactive and real-time learning experience.
Time commitment/expectations: How much time you spend and how deeply you engage is up to you. At a minimum, you can expect to spend between 1-2 hours a week if you only review the weekly content (text and videos).
We hope, however, you’ll want to engage in the online dialogue with peers and experts. This is where the real richness of the learning occurs, where we have the opportunity to explore new ideas, strategies, and visions for building a more peaceful world.
Depending on your level of engagement with the online discussion, you can expect to add another 1-3 hours a week. Finally, all participants are encouraged to complete optional assignments (required to earn a certificate). This is an opportunity to deepen and apply the ideas explored each week to practical possibilities. Expect another 2 hours a week if you pursue these options.
Accessing the course. Prior to the start date, you will be sent instructions for how to access the course.
Earn a certificate. To earn a certificate, participants must also complete optional weekly written assignments. Instructors will return the assignment to the student with detailed feedback. Submissions and feedback can be shared with everyone taking the course or kept private between a student and the instructor, at the student’s choice. Submissions must be completed by the conclusion of the course.
The cost of the course is the same for someone completing all, some, or none of the assignments.
Questions? Contact: phill@worldbeyondwar.org
War and the Environment:
Jan 17 – Feb 27, 2022 online course registration
Start: Monday, January 17, 2022 • 12:00 PM • Eastern Standard Time (US & Canada) (GMT-05:00)
End: Sunday, February 27, 2022 • 12:00 PM • Eastern Standard Time (US & Canada) (GMT-05:00)
Host Contact Info: Phill: education@worldbeyondwar.org
Course fee: $100 (Pay less if you have to, more if you can.) There will be a limit of 150 tickets sold for this course.
Here is a WBW presentation on War and the Environment from 2018. (Note: There is a misstatement in the presentation — There are 193 members of the United Nations not 933.)
World BEYOND War is a global network of volunteers, chapters, and affiliated organizations advocating for the abolition of the institution of war.
