War with Iran

The Buildup to a US-Iran War

I found this article mildly surprising, but the implications of another war with Iran are incalculable. I found the most surprising passage from this article to be:

The final factor moving us closer to war with Iran is the fact that we are already fighting a proxy war with Iran inside Iraq. The most under-appreciated passage from General Petraeus's congressional testimony was his description of the role of Iran:

In the past six months we have also targeted Shia militia extremists, capturing a number of senior leaders and fighters, as well as the deputy commander of Lebanese Hezbollah Department 2800, the organization created to support the training, arming, funding, and, in some cases, direction of the militia extremists by the Iranian Republican Guard Corps' Qods Force. These elements have assassinated and kidnapped Iraqi governmental leaders, killed and wounded our soldiers with advanced explosive devices provided by Iran, and indiscriminately rocketed civilians in the International Zone and elsewhere. It is increasingly apparent to both Coalition and Iraqi leaders that Iran, through the use of the Qods Force, seeks to turn the Iraqi Special Groups into a Hezbollah-like force to serve its interests and fight a proxy war against the Iraqi state and coalition forces in Iraq.

To pursue this proxy war, the US is arresting Iranian operatives and building outposts on the Iranian border for the purpose of interdicting weapons smuggled to Iran's agents in Iraq.

This doesn't exactly pertain to the current environment, but it begs to question what would happen, at an environmental level, to the area if it was burdened with another war? 

My apologies, as this posting is going to address last week's country, as well as this week's. I am fighting off a sickness that the more paranoid part of my psyche is almost entirely convinced is the Swine Flu.

Afghanistan

http://www.salaam.co.uk/themeofthemonth/december01_index.php?l=7

This link gives a brief summary of all of the environmental challenges facing Afghanistan today, and reveals that essentially the bulk of the environmental damage the land of Afghanistan has occured within the last two decades. Besides opium production, which has been going on for centuries, the majority of Afghanistan's problems, including chemical weapon production, land mines, and a decline in the amount of land used for agriculture. The wars that have wracked Afghanistan have been severely detrimental to their Eco System, and this is particularly poingnant because the conflicts in Afghanistan have been almost entirely no fault of their own. First idependence from the Soviet Union, next the American invasion into Afghanistan. The challenges they face have been caused by outside influences, and now they need the resources to fix them. To whom does that responsibility fall?

Iran

http://www.sfcg.org/programmes/iran/iran_environment.html

This article refers America's collaboration with Iran on issues involving the environment, particularly the ones that effect Iran the most, including air pollution and deforestation. It discusses past collaboration efforts between the two countries. Again, like Saudi Arabia, where the United States cannot work together on one arena, such as at the political level, they can find common ground on another level, like the environment.

Iran, with more than 65 million people, is one of the driest countries in the world. Urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture have increased demand for water while sapping the county’s scant supplies. Only 10 percent of the country receives adequate rainfall for agriculture. Water scarcity is a national concern and creates pressure to construct large infrastructural projects to transport water to drier parts of the country. A water tunnel has recently finished construction linking the Dez River and the central desert province Qom. Called the largest water tunnel in the Middle East, the project took five years to complete. At 27.3 miles long, the tunnel will move 120 million cubic meters of water each year.
Much of Iran's water is stored underground. Iranians centuries ago developed man-made underground water channels called qanats which are used more than wells to access those supplies. A qanat taps water that has seeped into the ground and channels it via straight tunnels to the land surface. Flood control and management of water resources have made dams popular projects in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The 42 dams are used for irrigation, flood management, hydropower, and in some cases drinking water. In numerous localities, there may be no precipitation until sudden storms, accompanied by heavy rains, dump almost the entire year's rainfall in a few days. Often causing floods and local damage, the runoffs are so rapid that they cannot be used for agricultural purposes. The dangerous relationship with water supplies in Iran poses many challenges for the future. Sudden innundation following drought make agriculture and safe water more unreliable and difficult.

When Development is a Step Backward

The following is a link to an article entitled Iran: Environment Takes a Back Seat to Development Plans from an online news analysis site:

http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1078370.html

The author, Vahid Sepehri, uses the example of the Kavir National Park in north-central Iran to illustrate how development in the interest of oil and an industrial economy is endangering safe spaces and the environment they protect. Kavir is home to several rare native and endangered species including the Persian leopard and the Asiatic cheetah. The area was declared a national park and biosphere reserve in 1976 by the Iranian monarchy.

Since then, however, two oil projects have been pushing for expansion, which would entail blasting, digging wells, and the building of pipelines and saltwater canals underground through the Kavir. As of now, construction is awaiting approval, but the threat still looms.

These actions would threaten the park not only in disturbance, but it would also ruin the soil and thus vegetation because “the injection of 4 billion cubic meters of gas under the national park would force large amounts of saltwater to the surface.” In an area that is already arid, this is extremely dangerous.

Kavir National Park is only a case study in the many hazards posed to the environment in Iran. It has been noted that the environment has already experienced degradation for military development. Several dams, chemical plants, and refineries have already been constructed, all of which “might generate jobs and money for some, but it would destroy the local environment and lead to long-term and more generalized poverty and sickness for locals.” This quote by Etemad-i Melli points to the human factor that is connected to environmental degradation. There has been a rise in birth defects in Iran, which have been traced to pollution from oil and production effluent into the Persian Gulf.

Once again, all of these negative environmental impacts are a result of so-called development. This may be an assumption, but I feel that it is a commonly held opinion in our class that military expansion is not necessarily progress. At what point does the security of a country overrule food security for its people? So often, the military and production of oil are used to protect a nation’s geographical and economic place, but if the actual land and resources are destroyed through environmental degradation, doesn’t this seem counter intuitive?

Approximately 4,000-5,000 Tehran residents are estimated to die every year from air pollution

I found this article about environmental issues in Iran and there are plenty to go around with!
I was just astounded by some claims that around 5,000 people in Tehran alone die from air pollution.

One can clearly see that the problems of a relatively successfully developing country are depicted in Iran as well. High levels of pollution, huge increases in population, higher energy consumption and the increase in CO2 emissions. Between 1980 and 2000, the CO2 emissions doubled from 30 million metric tons of carbon to over 80 million and, according to Wikipedia, in 2004 the levels are around 433 million, which is 5 times more than in 2000, and 14 times more than 1980. I just find those number to be very impressive!


Oh, and I found an interesting video about the largest and most important river of Iran and the pollution. It is clearly very biased, claiming that the Iranian government is not doing anything to prevent the pollution because there is a large number of Arabs living in that area, which is bordering Iraq.
I just found it interesting to see how people would assume such things (which might or might not be true) and actually see the pollution on video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3ix4_NsqI8

Gulf War Oil Spill Pictures

The deliberate oil spill of 1991 in the Persian Gulf negatively impacted those waters, as well as the coastal ecosystems of Iran, destroying wildlife and plant habitat, as well as contaminating the water source. 

Here are some photos of the largest oil spill ever (1,450,000), some of them are better than others: 

i got these from this website: http://rpitt.eng.ua.edu/Class/EffectsandFates/Module7/Module7.htm, which also has photos from other big oil spills. some of these photos are closer up and show how the oil in the water looks and bubbles up and just sits on top of the water. it's disgusting, and it makes me think of Free Willy 2 when Willy is dying because an oil spill and they just can scrape the oil of of him. That wasn't even real and its horrifying. This oil spill was HUGE, real, and intentional. I think that the environmental impacts of our actions are disregarded in much of our development as nations, but especially in war.

Potential impacts of an Israeli attack on Iran

Times Article

While this does not directly address the environment and how it may be impacted by an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. I do not know the details of nuclear radiation, nuclear power, and precision airstrikes but it seems as though this could create some major problems. Would there be a more serious explosion if a location with nuclear research going on? It seems as though this could be dangerous because of the unknown potential affects of this action, and any possible reprisals by the Iranians or other Islamic countries of the area.


And while it does not really apply to this week's topic this blog is quite interesting

Iran-Iraq War & Waterway Claims

http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/iraniraq.htm

This article talks about the role that the Shatt-al-Arab waterway played in the Iraq/Iran war. Since an ambiguous "The Peace Treaty of 1639" between the Persians and the Ottoman empire, this waterway has been disputed. Although we often think of the Iran/Iraq war as war about religion, this article talks about the main role that the waterway played in its initiation and both countries perseverance.

The article also talks about how although their was a lot of potential for the environmental damage during the Iran/Iraq war, relatively little actually occured (compared to the potential).

So I guess ultimately this post isn't about the environemnal impacts of war, but rather the environmental causes.

http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/iraniraq.htm

Health Hazards 9/11

Ground Zero Hazards

Environmental impact of 9/11 worse than feared

The articles that I found talk a lot about the health effects associated with the 9/11 attacks. The video does not talk much about what the health effects were, but it does show how many sources said that the area was perfectly safe.

Given our reading centered around Al qaeda I thought that it would be interesting to link our topic back to the U.S. directly. I think that it is important to realize how the issues we are discussing (such as terrorism) can directly influence

our lives here in the U.S.

link

Here's the link (I finally got it to work)

http://www.afghan-web.com/geography/environment.html

Waging War on the Environment in Afghanistan

For some reason right now, I am unable to post links here, but I found an article called, “The Condition of Afghanistan’s Environment” by Daud Saba and Mardom Nama-e Bakhter through google.

It is quite old (from 1997) but I thought it would be interesting to see what the status was during the active rule of the Taliban compared to the current status of the environment in Afghanistan today.

As others have noted in their posts, the article mentions the loss of forested area as a huge problem in the already very arid country. Much of this problem is due to deforestation, but a significant amount has also by burned or destroyed by war technology in chemicals. These chemical weapons, which Afghanistan used in the war against the Soviet Union, contributed smog and pollution to the air. As a result, these are obviously direct environmental consequences from war, as opposed to what we have seen in other countries we have studied where much of the degradation is linked indirectly to war through oil.

The article talks about how even worse than the decreasing amount of forests as well as farming land is the terrifying environmental and human danger of land mines, which are planted for war purposes. As of 1997, there were more than 10 million land mines in Afghanistan. (WHAT!?)

We must ask, at what point does environmental degradation become a government’s weapon against its own people. The state of the environment in Afghanistan desperately needs to be addressed, but are there motives for those who hold power to prevent reform?

Drought in Afghanistan

Drought and conflict have been devastating for Afghanistan’s drinking water. Access to safe water has been limited even before US-led bombing commenced in October 2001. The lack of safe drinking water also makes diarrhea and dysentery more of a threat. Disease outbreaks were not met with the traditional means of community education on hygiene and communication campaigns since the Taliban dismantled those women-led structures. By the time the campaign on Afghanistan was underway in 2001, the country had been experiencing its worst drought in 30 years. Well drilling and water delivery have been undertaken by foreign NGOs to help make safe water available. The areas of Maywand and Khakrez have particularly been impacted by these problems. They traditionally rely on water from underground water sources or shallow water wells, but these sources have been damaged and truncated. Irrigation for food production has also been more difficult to obtain and as a result food production has suffered. Severe food shortages now face the country and Oxfam says 5 million could experience extreme food shortages and possible starvation. Delivery of aid and water relief has been complicated as infrastructure and supply routes are under continued attack. While the focus on Afghanistan policy has been on the insurgency and political security, food security has been getting little attention. A humanitarian crisis looms for Afganistan. Can the US escalate its battle against continued suffering and public health crises in Afghanistan? Will the focus on the troubles of Afghanistan incorporate the pressing need for action to remove the circumstances that make starvation and disease too real of a threat for millions in Afghanistan?

Deforestation, endangered species, land mines

sorry, i'm a little late with this...

This article talks about the effects of years and years of war in Afghanistan, especially the civil war. It touches on a few things already mentioned by Slavi and Evelyn, in regards to deforestation and land mines, but offers some other facts as well.

here is the link: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2002/03/afghanistans-environmental-casualties

their natural resources are depleting as a result of being over used to make war weapons, but also in order to survive financially in war times. one resource especially over used has been the forests. the lumber industry has been one of few money-making industries because wood is need to create and fuel the building of war infrastructure. much of this wood is smuggled out of the country by a timber mafia. the lack of trees leaves the earth exposed, and as the top soil erodes, the land is made unusable for agriculture.

a lot of this land is filled with left over land mines from the civil war, an estimated 10 million! that kill or injure 3 people per day!

a drought has caused even more fighting over water access of rivers and canals. also, the animal biodiversity of Afghanistan is suffering signifcantly. There are lots of problems with poaching and hunting endangered species for food and profit on the black market.

the devastation that Afghanistan has sufferd because of conflict and war is unbelievable, and there is no sign of things turning around. the land, air, and water is constantly degrading and becoming unusable, and creating an unlivable environment for humans to live.

Virtually no forests!

I was truly amazed to find out that Afghanistan has practically no forests, what so ever. Afghanistan had, apparently, only 3% of its territory covered with forests in 1980, which has dropped to less than 0,5% by now. That is a very serious side-effect of the wars, but then again one could argue that they barely had any forests in the first place. Nevertheless, there are entire regions where forest-wood is used as firewood for heating and cooking, so it is a necessity. It seems as if it is a big problem, but one never really hears about that. The soil is as well very much affected by trees, so I would assume that the soil from the deforested areas is getting worse every year. According to the CIA Factbook soil degradation is a big problem in Afghanistan, with deforestation for fuel and building materials…

Here are the links of the sources:
http://www.lenntech.com/environmental-effects-war.htm#Asia
http://www.igreens.org.uk/afghanistans_forests.htm

Landmines In Afhgnistan Threaten the Environment

This article is about the impact of land mines on the environment and the people of Afghanistan. According to this article:

http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSISL43003

"Up to a 150,000 people have been killed or wounded by landmines or explosive remnants since 1989. On average, 45 to 50 people are killed or wounded by landmines in Afghanistan every month, compared to 150, three years ago."

This definitely shows the connection between human needs and the environment. Not only are the land mines bad for the people, they are also devastating for the environment, which (as we can see in all the other articles) is already suffering.

This link gives a more in depth account of the environmental impacts of land mines in globally (such as how they pollute water and the soil).

Here is a Link to an article about the impacts of the decades long wars that have devastated Afghanistan. Like most places that have undergone war for such a lengthy time period, the countryside here has been severely degraded. The article has one particularly striking image on the right hand side showing a boy walking through the disgustingly dirty and polluted river. Just as in Iraq there are problems with people stealing, smuggling and taking advantage of the unlawfulness.

It is reasonable to expect some sort of environmental protection during times of war? Would there be a difference between a war in or between developing countries and one with more developed countries where environmental protection may be a bigger issue and priority?

Shock and Awe

‘Modern warfare damages ecosystems’

Modern Warfare Causes Unprecedented environmental Damage

These articles talk about some of the environmental impacts of using shock and awe tactics like the U.S. has in Iraq. Not only do they appear to be not very effective, but the consequences of blanketing an area with potent munitions appear quite large. 

Shock & Awe

Article

This article goes over some of the ways the U.S. could halved helped the environment in preventing global warming if it invested as much in the environment as it did in war.

US spending on the Iraq war could cover all of the global investments in renewable power generation that are needed between now and 2030 in order to halt current warming trends.

2. 141 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MMTCO2e) emissions since March 2003 and still counting…
• CO2 released by the war to date equals the emissions from putting 25 million more cars on the road in the US this year. These stem from fuel-intensive combat, oil well fires and
increased gas flaring, the boom in cement consumption due to reconstruction efforts and security needs, and heavy use of explosives and chemicals that contribute to global warming.
• If the war was ranked as a country in terms of emissions, it would emit more CO2 each year than 139 of the world’s nations do annually. Falling between New Zealand and Cuba, the war each year emits more than 60% of all countries.
• Emissions from the Iraq War to date are nearly two and a half times greater than what would be avoided between 2009 and 2016 were California to implement the auto emission regulations it has proposed, but that the Bush Administration has struck down.

I thought that this was pretty interesting. I had never stopped to think about how else the U.S. could have been spending money and the affects that it could have on the rest of the world.

Environmental Issues linked to Health Issues

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/84318_10084318.html

The environmental implications in any country usually play second fiddle to the human consequences. The environment, generally, is only important in so far as it affects human beings. So while it is all well and good to worry about the impact of war on the landscape, what it ultimately boils down to is the people. The article discusses various health problems US army service women have experienced since being on tours of duty in Iraq. The health issues include hair loss, fatigue and fever. While the symptoms could be attributed to extreme stress, as war understandably puts its combatats under emotional duress, the sheer number of US airwomen suffering from similar symptoms begs the question, does environment have something to do with it? The study does not explore the illness, which it dubs "Gulf War Syndrome" after the illness that struck many troops during the 1991 Gulf War,any further, and it would be interesting to know whether or not the syndrome affects women living in the area, or foreign aid workers, if the women living in the area have built up an immunity to whatever viral strain is causing the syndrome. The only reason to not attribute it to war stress is that thus far the syndrome has not affected male air troops.

I know we are discussing the environmental impacts, but because the environment is so obviously inextricably linked to the people, it is interesting to see what impacts the war has on people via the environment.

Destroying the Garden of Eden

The following is a link to a video report on the environment in Iraq from the United Nations Environmental Programme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UASfxGC7ZO0

The video explains how in 1991, after the United States withdrew forces from Iraq, the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq were forced to continue the fight against Saddam Hussein on their own. In order to demolish these forces and their resources, Hussein damned and drained the marshes in the South, which were once called “the Garden of Eden” and as a result, driving the Marsh Arabs into internal exile. After the second U.S. invasion in Iraq and once Sadddam Hussein’s regime fell, the southern Iraqis immediately destroyed the dams and returned the marshes to these areas. Unfortunately, the water has been greatly affected. For example, Stalinization levels have changed and now, the water is not safe to drink directly from its source. In response, six water treatment plants have been implemented to purify the water—the water is once again available and useable, but it took great pains and pricy reforms to bring the marshes back.

I found this video interesting because it specifically focuses on war tactics that actually exploit environmental degradation, as opposed to simply the negative impacts that the environment experiences due to warfare. This environmental warfare appears much more intentional and deliberate, but I am forced to question, if you can in fact compare the two, whether it is worse than the United State’s influence on the Iraqi environment. American forces are not actively destroying river systems to devastate Iraqi livelihoods, but they are, nevertheless, waging a war that still has its own environmental consequences. The United States is also extremely invested in the production of oil, which is a large factor in environmental degradation. Can exploitation of a land and its resources for the United State’s own interests be compared to deliberate environmental warfare?

Depleted Uranium in US Weapons

Depleted uranium is used in armor plating, radiation shielding, ballast in missiles and aircraft counterweights. Soldiers are advised to be away from the impact of vehicles containing or hit by depleted uranium to prevent heavy metal poisoning. This isn't always possible for troops, and the Iraqi people who live in continuous combat have even more difficulty escaping the deleterious effects of depleted uranium on the battlefield. This is the country where they live after all. What kind of effects does the use of DU have exposed Iraqis? The concerns about radiation are not as troubling as depleted uranium being a potentially poisonous heavy metal. Depleted uranium dust and shrapnel exposure have been cited as the source of birth abnormalities leukemia by returning US soldiers. It is unclear if the dramatically increased incidence of cancer in Basra, where the water supply was contaminated by depleted uranium, can be completely attributed to DU. But this does spell concerns about the use of depleted uranium ammunition. While the US has resisted attempts to ban the use of depleted uranium, studies still point to the tenfold increase in childhood cancer as signs that the use of depleted uranium for tactical reasons needs to be reexamined.

SlideShow

Here is a great slideshow about the First Gulf War and about terrorism and the possibilities for the Second Gulf War and its environmental impacts. I really wanted to lay claim to this piece of media so my analysis and thoughts will follow when I come back from work later tonight

Tigris River

this article talks a little bit about the pollution of the Tigris due to the impacts of the US occupation of Iraq. The Euphrates-Tigris river valley is considered by many the birth of civilization, and the access to a flowing fresh river is one of the reasons why. Today, however, the Tigris is anything but mighty or flowing. It has been dammed at its source in Turkey to stop flooding, but in many parts, the river doesn't flow, but is staganat, and even dries up. The lack of flow also incrases the salt concentration in the water, making it unusable for drinking and unlivable for much of the ecosystem.

More pertinent to the war, before 2003, the river, had an ample and stable fish population. Pollution from war chemicals as well as dead bodies (mostly torture victims) thrown into the river have contributed to its contamination. Near Baghdad, fishermen have reported that the fish are scarce, but that they also cannot even try to fish there because it separates the city from US controlled Green Zone, which includes soldiers patrolling the waters. During the day, they make fishermen leave, and at night, fishermen risk being mistaken for "insurgents planting bombs."


Here is the link: http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/attack/consequences/2006/1113river.htm

Iraq War's Environmental Impact

I found this interesting article from just before the Iraq War, in January 2003 in "THE GUARDIAN". (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jan/19/iraq5)It talked about the possible effects of a new Iraq war, if it happened...which it did (obviously).
It talked about the effect that the First Gulf War had on the environment but also on civilians and it makes some assumptions about the latest war.

Another article was from 2005, from BBC, talking about the impact that the war had on the environment of Iraq. It mentions some of the things from the previous article and it projects that costs for decontamination of Iraq would be around $40 million.
This is very interesting, since I found a bunch of random facts about the war on this site where it states how much pollution the war has caused so far (in carbon emissions) and how much money has been poured into it.

It is really amazing and truly fascinating to think that the U.S. would rather waste so much money by attacking a nation and then trying to rebuild it, instead of providing that money for stopping the current global warming trends, or spending more money on the war in Iraq than the whole world spends in order to stop global warming. I'm just overwhelmed by the information... I am not sure how accurate they are, or how accurate they can even be, but still.... even if it's somewhere near that, it's ridiculous.

article from NY Times

This is completely irrelevant to this week's topic but I thought it was pretty interesting. you may have to sign up to be a member of NY Times to read the whole article but it is free.


Link

Environmental Effects of War: Health

This is more directly relating to the enviornmental effects of the war. Apparently the war has led to decreased health services and a lack of available clean water for those within Iraq... I can't find the full report that is mentioned, but from other sources that have summarized it, it sounds like it's pretty lengthy....


http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/OCHA-64CV6S?OpenDocument


"The new report estimates that more than 20,000 Iraqis have died between the start of hostilities and when the report was finalised late last month. The number of people affected by the aftermath of the war is still rising as the Iraqi people continue to pay the price in death, injury and mental and physical ill health.

'Limited access to clean water and sanitation, as well as poverty, malnutrition, and disruption of public services including health services continue to have a negative impact on the health of the Iraqi people,' says the report's author Dr Sabya Farooq."

American Company Profiteering off (American Caused) Destruction in Iraq

So I know that everyone is really busy, but I REALLY encourage you to check out this link:

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/search?q=haliburton

It's taken from the blog of an Iraqi women who uses the name "riverbend" - she fears the repercussions of revealing her true identity. She is 24 years old and before the war in Iraq she was a successful business woman. After the Saddam Hussein was taken out of power, she talks about how virtually non-existent differences between religious and ethnic groups flared and multiplied as the American forces divided power between them. As a result, conservative Islamic groups now have much power and she is no longer allowed to work.

This post from her blog focuses on the restructuring of Iraq. She talks in particular about a bridge being rebuilt by Halliburton. She reminds us that there is significant unemployment in Iraq as a result of the war, and that there are skilled engineers who are more than capable of rebuilding the bridges destroyed by American bombing. One of these engineers is her cousin, a bridge engineer for over 17 years who helped rebuild 20 of the bridges destroyed during the first Gulf War. His company appraised the rebuilding of the bridge at 30,000. Halliburton, however, got the contract and charged the Iraqi people 50,000,000 to rebuild the bridge.

She discusses how American companies are profiting off the destruction of Iraqi cities caused by American bombs. The American companies are driving Iraq into debt, which is especially atrocious once one is aware that Iraqi companies could do the same job for considerably less. In addition, the American companies are taking much needed jobs from the Iraqi's to giving them to American workers and contractors!

I realize this isn't directly related to the environmental effects of war, but I really wanted to share this because it does have to do with the destruction cased by war.

I REALLY recommend reading more of her blog, it provides a very unique perspective to the conflict in Iraq from someone who is actually experiencing it. Her blogs have also been published into two books entitled "Baghdad Burning." Also - a little endorsement here - if you find this interesting I strongly recommend that you take the class "Images of Women in the Middle East" taught by Kousha this fall (Sociology, Mondays from 1:10 - 4:10). She is from Iran herself and teaches the class incredibly well. It connects very well to this class and the readings are very interesting. I learned a lot from the class, and if you are interested in the Middle East, chances are you will love it too.

Desert Storm Syndrome

Article

I found this article the referenced a few of the environmental impacts of the Gulf War on Saudi Arabia. This is the section that I found most interesting:

"Also in Iraq, for the first time, the United States used depleted uranium shells designed to pierce armor and destroy bunkers. These weapons were made from a dense radioactive metal. British and American tanks fired thousands of these shells in Desert Storm and both American aircraft and snipers fired hundreds of thousands of depleted uranium bullets, which oxidize upon impact. This created a fine dust which coated destroyed tanks, bunkers and the landscape where they were used. The extensive use of depleted uranium left behind 640,000 pounds of contaminated equipment and soil in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and southern Iraq. There is a strong suspicion among some that depleted uranium is related to what has popularly become known as "Desert Storm Syndrome," which manifested itself by neurological problems, rashes and lung damage. Depleted uranium was a fairly new technology and, like Agent Orange, considered perfectly safe. Admiral Zumwalt is a member of the Special Oversight Board for the Gulf War. This panel is currently researching the different types of exposures that may have led to the health problems Desert Storm veterans are experiencing."

I would imagine that over 600,000 lbs of contaminated equipment could cause numerous problems (many of which would most likely be impossible to detect). I don't like the idea of the U.S. using "fairly new" technology that is not well understood. I could see how such a tool could be very useful in destroying hostel targets, but I wonder if such rounds became standard and were used indiscriminately. Maybe toxic munitions such as this should not be used unless it is truly needed.

UN compensation for environmental damage

Article

This article is brief, but I think that it is interesting. It shows action by the UN to try to determine what the environmental impacts of of the Gulf war were by awarding several countries, including Saudi Arabia, $243 million. It looks as though during the 90-91' occupation of Kuwait incurred $46 billion in environmental claims. That is a staggering number that raises some interesting questions. How do you assign a dollar amount to environmental damage caused by war? $46 billion is no small figure. How was this number calculated? I think that it is not only important to look at these impacts of war in resources such as number of birds and trees dying, but also in economic terms.

Andra's post via KC

The following is a link to a report that I found released by the U.S. Department of Energy on the environmental impacts of oil production in Saudi Arabia:
http://www.earthscape.org/r1/ES15071/doe_saudi.html
As is evident in “Blood and Oil” readings for this week, the production of oil in Saudi Arabia is strongly linked to not only fuel use for the military, but also, to U.S. relations that help fund the Saudi Arabian military. As a result, the effects that oil processing has on the nation’s environment can be constructed as an issue of the environmental degradation of war.
The report describes, for example, how as demand for oil exports increases, shipping traffic from Saudi Arabia has become more congested, and as a result the amount of accidents and oil spills have gone up as well. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia’s practices of offshore drilling have several negative environmental implications. For instance, coral reefs located on the Saudi coast as well as the Mangrove populations have been depleted from oil contamination. Another problem is that the waste-water left over from the oil production is very high in salt content, upsetting the balance of salt in these waters.
These are only a few of the effects seen in Saudi Arabia from the production of oil. The air has also been degraded from pollution as well as the expected hazards of increased carbon emissions. The report concludes by saying the Saudi government is intensifying efforts to increase awareness about environmental issues.
I think it is important to not only recognize the environmental effects cause by oil production and military expansion, but also examine the forces that are encouraging or enabling this degradation. The United States is a major source of the demand for oil as well as a financer of their military in return. We must question who has the responsibility to address these environmental issues? Is it only the Saudi government that must tend to the state of the environment in their nation or do other powers need to assist in the development? More importantly, perhaps, who is most capable and would most realistically offer constructive reform?

Gulf War oil spill

I found it relatively difficult to find anything concrete on this topic, so I decided to look at the Persian Gulf for inspiration. I decided to look at the Persian Gulf, since Saudi Arabia has a share in the coast and waters of the Gulf, but has not itself experienced a war in some time now and the topic is war related due to Kuwait, Iraq and Iran.

I found this article on an Iranian news and culture journal, at http://www.iranian.ws/cgi-bin/iran_news/exec/view.cgi/2/2181, which talked about the pollution in the Persian Gulf. It said that there was “The world largest oil spill, estimated 8 million barrels” (approx 336 million gallons), which made the want to look into that. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_oil_spill) the spill was estimated to be somewhere between 42 to 462 million gallons, which is a lot of oil. Then again, it’s not that much, if one takes into consideration hat, according to the CIA factbook, in 2007 the world produced 85,5 million barrels of oil PER DAY. That makes it around 310 billion barrels per year, if I am not wrong in my calculations!

Anyway, such a major spillage has had never happened in the world – the closest one to this one was in 1979/80 in the Gulf of Mexico and it had somewhere between 454,000 to 480,000 tons of crude oil, while the “Gulf War oil spill” had 780,000-1,500,000 tons of crude oil.

Coming back to the original article, this is what it said about the oil spill:

“Saudi Arabia had the worst damage. Because the animals and plants of the seafloor are the basis of the food chain, damage to the shoreline consequences for the whole shallow- water ecosystem.

The impact of the damage affected the multimillion-dollar Saudi fisheries industry and surrounding area including Medina al Jubayl. The spill threatened industrial facilities in Al Jubayl . The greatest pollution was experienced in Abu Ali Island. The large number of marine birds, such as grebes, cormorants, and auks were killed.

Beaches along the entire Al Jubayl coastline were covered with tar balls and oil. The exploding and burning of 700 miles oil wells in Kuwait created staggering levels of atmospheric pollution.”

Obviously, the oil spill had rather direct impact on Saudi Arabia’s environment (and all of the nations of the Persian Gulf) and was definitely related to the war in Iraq and Kuwait at that point.

Coral Reefs

Sorry this posting is late. My computer crashed and burned and IT needed time to try and heal the wounds. I am doing homework at work

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9&section=0&article=121163&d=4&m=4&y=2009

The article above discusses a new study being launched into the Saudi Arabian coral reef system in the Red sea. The study is a collaboration between organizations in the United States, Saudi Arabia and the international community. While the coral reefs being studied have not suffered from the impacts of war, in the sense that they have not be subjected to oil spills, but only the stresses put on them by fishermen. So it isn't really the environmental impacts of war, more the environmental impacts of daily, normal, life.

What I found so interesting though, is that collaboration on scientific research like this. So often I tend to think of the Middle East as a region so riddled by war, conflict and political divides that they never encounter or productively deal with other issues. Articles like this show that Arab nations are concerned with domestic issues as well, and are actively working to find solutions to environmental problems within their own borders.

Images of Environmental Damage in Iraq/Kuwait War

After the readings, it became clear to me that Saudi Arabia has been spared the costly wars prevalent throughout the rest of the Middle East because of American protection. This is not to say that American protection necessarily benefitted Saudi Arabia, but the U.S. military proved no match for the Iraqi army. However, had the United States not been involved, it is very likely that Saudi Arabia would have been attacked by Iraq as well. The close proximity of Saudi Arabian oil fields to Kuwait meant that the damage from the fire that Saddam set in Kuwait oil fields did travel to Saudi Arabia. Since the environmental effects of this have already been discussed in the previous posts, such as the effect on the birds, I thought that I would post some visual representations of the fires themselves. Here is a video I found that shows the fires and briefly explains how they began:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DoxBG5zdxg&feature=related

This video is a broadcast from CNN on the first day of the Iraqi invasion into Kuwait. The amount of tanks and helicopters is pretty astonishing, and it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think about how much pollution they are probably causing. Plus, this is only the Iraqi troops; I’m sure U.S. troops considerably polluted the area as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oybdr9rzMKM&feature=related

Also, although this doesn’t have anything to do with our topic, I watched the Documentary Web of Deceit on YouTube. It does a really good job explaining what our readings went over this week, but the addition of images make it so much more real (at least for me). If your search “Web of Deceit” on youtube, you can find it installed in parts.

Video I saw on the deserts

Here is a link to a CNN piece on the efforts of a Saudi prince to protect the deserts. I wasn't able to get the embed codes to work, but the link should get you there.

Inside The Middle East in Egypt Part 03 7:00 updated Tue, April 10, 2007
Prince Khalid Faisal Turki al Saud, a Saudi government advisor tells us about the danger to the deserts of Saudi Arabia

So after numerous searches for "Saudi Arabia" environmental impacts I was unable to find something that exactly fit this criteria, although I did find this article which I find pretty interesting.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article1744489.ece

The article is about how Saudi Arabia and Egypt were planning on creating a 15 mile long bridge across the Strait of Tiran directly linking Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Not only would there be significant environmental impacts on the sea, there would also be problems with Israel. Currently there is no direct land route between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Israel is in the way. This bridge would have allowed for automobile access between the two countries (and continents). Israel had considerable problems with this bridge as it would have possibly impeded their access to the Gulf of Aqaba and beyond. If it had been constructed, it could have drastically changed the Middle East for those who lived there. Egypt recognizes Israel as a state while Saudi Arabia does not, so having an increasing amount of interactions between people of these two states could result in some changes occurring. 

Environmental Impacts of War: Saudi Arabia

This article was written by UK environmentalists in 2003 explaining some environmental impacts of the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

Here is the link: http://www.envirosagainstwar.org/sayno/birdlife.html
the full article is also at the bottom of this blog.

Most notable and pertinent to Saudi Arabia were the 6-8 million barrels of oil spills in the Arabian Gulf which killed over 30,000 wintering birds on the Saudi Arabian coastline. The coastline is one of the top 5 migrating sights in the world. These oil spills also destroyed much of the habitat that supports these migrating birds, so the future of the ecosystem's capability to support wintering migrants is questionable.

While the loss of many birds seems maybe less important and detrimental compared to other impacts of war, the loss and destruction of an ecosystem is very significant. The oil spills in the Gulf War destroyed habitat on the coast of Saudi Arabia creating environmental waste lands--where no plants, animals, or humans can live on the land. i feel like incidence like these are a slippery slope, and it is only a matter of time that even more environment, even more birds are killed, and the problem will make the land and water not only unusable, but hazardous and a danger to all life forms. this is a problem in that we need water to survive, as a means of transportation and commuication, but also to function as human beings. with the shortage of water in middle east (and the world) it may only be a matter of time before we are all using desalinization like Dubai, because it is the only option. can desalnization save oil contaminated sea waters? it creates a whole new problem for an already complicated, life-threatening and looming one.

Threats to the Environment Posed by War in Iraq

Birdlife International

CAMBRIDGE, UK, (February 16, 2003 - BirdLife International today identified the main threats to the environment posed by a war in Iraq in a dossier of information, maps and photographs sent to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the UK and USA) and the Government of Iraq. The dossier highlights threats to local people and key natural sites critical for globally threatened and endemic biodiversity in Iraq and the endangered Mesopotamian wetlands [1].

Based on the unprecedented environmental damage caused by the 1990-1991 Gulf War and available data on the environmental effects of recent conflicts in Yugoslavia and Afghanistan [2,3], BirdLife has identified seven risks to the environment and biodiversity - and as a consequence also to local people - posed by war:

1. Physical destruction and disturbance of natural habitats of international importance and wildlife resulting from weapons use

2. Toxic pollution of natural habitats and wildlife resulting from oil spills or oilwell fires caused by fighting or deliberate damage

3. Radiological, chemical or bio-toxic contamination of natural habitats and wildlife resulting from the use of weapons of mass destruction and conventional bombing of military or industrial facilities

4. Physical destruction of natural habitats and wildlife resulting from increased human pressure caused by mass movements of refugees (ie, water pollution, use of wood as fuel, hunting of wildlife)

5. Burning of wetland and forest vegetation as a result of fighting or deliberate damage

6. Desertification exacerbated by military vehicles and weapons use

7. Extinction of endemic species or subspecies

"Until recently the impact of war on nature has often been ignored or obscured by the conflict itself. As the 1990-1991 Gulf War showed, such conflicts have devastating effects on the environment, biodiversity and the quality of life of local people long after the cessation of hostilities", said Dr Michael Rands, Director and Chief Executive of BirdLife International.

Iraq has a number of internationally important natural areas, in particular Important Bird Areas (IBAs). "Waders and waterbirds will be particularly at risk from oil spills because Iraq is at the northern end of the Arabian Gulf which is one of the top five sites in the world for wintering wader birds and a key refuelling area for hundreds of thousands of migratory waterbirds during the spring and autumn period" said Mike Evans, a BirdLife researcher who visited the Arabian Gulf in 1991.

In 1991 BirdLife International and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB - BirdLife in the UK) sent three teams of scientists to the Gulf region to collaborate with the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (BirdLife in Saudi Arabia) and with the Kuwaiti Environment Protection Council to assess the environmental impacts of the war and resulting oil pollution. The results were published in the Journal of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East [4].

These and other data show that the 1990-1991 Gulf War resulted in by far the largest marine oil spills in history with 6-8 million barrels of crude oil spilled, severely polluting 560km of coast, totally obliterating intertidal ecosystems and resulting in large-scale oil slicks that severely damaged the northern Arabian Gulf. Extensive mechanical damage by the manoeuvring armies also harmed the fragile desert crust and its ecosystem.

Other oil spills occurred at Basrah refinery at the mouth of the Shatt Al-Arab, from refineries on the coast of Kuwait, and from the storage depot at Al-Khafji just south of the Kuwait-Saudi Arabian border. BirdLife International therefore cautions that oil spills of the same scale or worse could occur if there is a new war.

Many of the natural habitats and sites impacted in the 1990-1991 Gulf War will be at risk again in a new war. Recently the US administration stated it does not rule out the use of nuclear weapons in Iraq. The Iraqi Government may itself feel compelled to use weapons of mass destruction - if it still possesses any - as a last resort if faced with the prospect of defeat.

A new war could result in physical destruction of natural areas and wildlife in Iraq and the northern Arabian Gulf. The main habitats in Iraq are:

• Wetlands (<5%)>
• Coastal (<5%)>
• Desert (<80%>
• Steppe (<15%>
• Forest and high mountain scrub (<5%>

Iraq contains 42 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and the Mesopotamian marshes Endemic Bird Area (EBA). Sixteen globally threatened or near-threatened bird species occur in the country, plus three unique endemic wetland bird species (Iraq Babbler, Basra Reed Warbler, Grey Hypocolius) and five endemic or nearendemic marshland sub-species (Little Grebe, African Darter, Black Francolin, White-eared Bulbul, Hooded Crow) [10].

"It was the heart-rending image of an oiled bird that became a symbol of the environmental impact of the first Gulf War. BirdLife International hopes that images of oiled birds do not once again fill our television screens in 2003", said Dr Rands.

Before their near-total destruction between 1991 and 2002, the 15,000km2 Mesopotamian marshlands formed one of the most extensive wetland ecosystems in western Eurasia. It comprised a complex of interconnected freshwater lakes, marshes and inundated floodplains following the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, extending from Baghdad in the north to Basra in the south. Approximately 50km2 may remain. These remnants would have the potential to help restore the marshlands.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report The Mesopotamian Marshlands shows that destruction of the marshes in the 1990s had a devastating effect on wildlife and people, "with significant implications to global biodiversity from Siberia to southern Africa ... Mammals and fish that existed only in the marshlands are now considered extinct. Coastal fisheries in the northern Gulf, dependent on the marshlands for spawning grounds, have also experienced a sharp decline." A sub-species of Otter and the Bandicoot Rat are also believed to have become extinct [11].

The impact of this destruction has also deprived the indigenous Ma'dan people who have lived in these marshes for 5,000 years, pursuing a sustainable way of life based on the abundant fish and wildlife living in the wetlands, of their traditional homeland. These marshlands were also important spawning grounds for a multi-million dollar shrimp fishery in the Arabian Gulf and also provided 60% of fish eaten in Iraq. Most of Iraq's rice, sugarcane and Water Buffalo used to be reared in the marshlands.

They were also heavily degraded by the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. Much of the fighting took place in and around these wetlands resulting in extensive burning, heavy bombing and the widespread use of napalm and chemical weapons. A new war in Iraq could lead to their final destruction.

Art specialists concerned about potential threats to the thousands of archaeological sites scattered throughout Iraq are supplying maps and information to the US Defense Department as part of an initiative co-ordinated by Arthur Houghton, a Middle East specialist and former Antiquities Curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum, in an attempt to protect Iraq's cultural heritage following initial disregard for archaeological sites during the first Gulf War (http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=10250) In the dossier BirdLife International also urges potential combatants in a war not to deliberately target or damage globally important natural habitats and biodiversity which, like Iraq's cultural heritage, have a unique and irreplaceable value for humanity.

Notes for Editors

1. BirdLife International is a global alliance of national conservation nongovernmental organisations working in more than 100 countries in five continents who, together, are the leading authority on the status of the world's birds, their habitats and the issues and problems affecting bird life.

2. E Hoskins (1997) Public Health and the Persian Gulf War. In Levy, Barry and Siddel (eds) War and Public Health. Oxford University Press. New York; US EPA (1991), Kuwait Oil Fires: Interagency Interim Report, 3 April 1991, p1; UNEP (1991), Gulf War Oil Spill: UNEP Appeals for International Action, Press Release, 28 January 1991; Lee Hockstader (1991), UN Official Urges Fast Assessment of Health Risks Posed by Oil Fires, Washington Post, 29 March 1991, p.A1; Greenpeace International (1991) On Impact - Modern Warfare and the Environment. A case study of the Gulf War, WM Arkin, D Durrant and M Cherni; Greenpeace International (1992) The Environmental Legacy of the Gulf War, WM Arkin (ed).

3. Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Military Activities During the Yugoslavia Conflict, June 1999, Prepared for European Commission DG-XI - Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection, The Regional Environment Center for Central and Eastern Europe; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2003 Post-Conflict Assessment of the impact of war in Afghanistan. The UNEP report found that two decades of war have laid waste to the country's environment. Over 80% of Afghans live in rural areas where many of their basic resources - water for irrigation, trees for food and fuel - have been lost in just a generation. Millions of refugees are putting further strains on natural resources. Four years of drought have compounded a state of widespread and serious resource degradation: lowered water tables, dried-up wetlands, denuded forests, eroded land and depleted wildlife populations. With more than half the forests in three provinces destroyed in 25 years of conflict, wildlife inevitably suffers.

4. Sandgrouse, Arabian Gulf Issue, Volume 15, Parts 1-2, 1993. Journal of Ornithological Society of the Middle East.

5. Mainly the remaining Mesopotamian marshes in the Tigris/Euphrates valley.

6. The Khawr Abdallah Important Bird Area (IBA) is particularly vulnerable to the effects of an oil spill. In 1991 nearby oil terminals were bombed and damaged leading to massive marine oil spills. The 1991 oil spills were blown out to sea, but new oil spills in 2003 could be blown ashore impacting this IBA.

7. Up to 90% of the Kuwaiti desert was impacted by military vehicle movements in 1991.

8. This habitat is especially important for agriculture.

9. Remote forests in the mountains in northern Iraq are rich in biodiversity. Refugee pressure from cities such as Mosul and Kirkuk could cause civilians to flee to or through these mountains towards Iran and Turkey causing damage to them as they move.

10. Threatened Birds of the World, AJ Stattersfield and DR Capper (senior editors), Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, 2000.

11. UNEP (2001) The Mesopotamian Marshlands: Demise of an Ecosystem, Early Warning and Assessment Technical Report.

DOCUMENTS IN THE DOSSIER

Related papers on the environmental impacts of the 1990-1991 Gulf War Effects of the Gulf War oil spills and well-head fires on the avifauna and environment of Kuwait. C.W.T. Pilcher and D.B. Sexton, Sandgrouse, Arabian Gulf Issue, Volume 15, Parts 1-2, 1993. Ornithological Society of the Middle East.

Abstract: Large toxic oil lakes formed inland whilst burning well-heads poured tens of thousands of tonnes of toxic smoke into the atmosphere daily. At least 25% of Kuwait's desert was covered in oil or heavy deposits of oily soot. Probably 90% of Kuwait's desert surface was impacted by military activities and desertification was greatly exacerbated. All existing protected areas for nature conservation were damaged. In the Jal Az-Zawr National Park most habitats were seriously impacted by military activities.

Impact of Gulf War oil spills on wintering seabird populations along the northern Arabian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, 1991. P. Symens and A. Suhaibani, Sandgrouse, Volume 15, Parts 1-2, 1993. Ornithological Society of the Middle East.

Abstract: Counts of dead birds along the northern Arabian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia indicated that more than 30,000 wintering seabirds were killed by oil spills in January-April 1991.

Impact of Gulf War oil spills on the wader populations of the Saudi Arabian Gulf coast. M.I. Evans and G.O. Keijl. Sandgrouse, Volume 15, Parts 1-2, 1993. Ornithological Society of the Middle East.

Abstract: The northern half of the Saudi Arabian Gulf coastline (c.560km) was heavily polluted by the enormous marine oil spills from February 1991 onwards. The study investigated the effects on coastal wader populations, and found that the oiled coastline no longer supported significant numbers of waders during the spring migration period of April-May 1991 or in early winter (November-December 1991); the magnitude of the reduction in numbers compared to a single previous baseline survey was estimated as c.97%.

List of Globally Threatened and Near-Threatened species present in Iraq Endangered:

White-headed Duck

Vulnerable:

Socotra Cormorant
Marbled Teal
Greater Spotted Eagle
Imperial Eagle
Lesser Kestrel
Corncrake
Sociable Lapwing

Conservation Dependent: Dalmatian Pelican

Near-Threatened: Pygmy Cormorant
Ferruginous Duck
White-tailed Eagle
Pallid Harrier
Houbara Bustard
Basra Reed-warbler
Cinerous Bunting
Syrian Serin

List of Endemic and Near-Endemic marshland species present in Iraq

Basra Reed-warbler
Grey Hypocolius
Iraq Babbler

List of Endemic and Near-Endemic marshland sub-species present in Iraq

Little Grebe
African Darter
Black Froncolin
White-eared Bulbul
Hooded Crow

List of seasonal migrants present in the Arabian Gulf during 1990-1991 Gulf War

Wood Sandpiper
Terek Sandpiper
Lesser Sand Plover
Little Ringed plover
Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Grey Plover
Sanderling
Little Stint
Curlew Sandpiper
Broad-billed Sandpiper
Bar-tailed Godwit
Curlew
Turnstone
Oystercatcher
Swift Tern
Bridled Tern
Lesser Crested Tern
White-cheeked Tern

http://www.birdlife.net/news/pritem_display.cfm?NewRecID=789&NewType=P

Important Bird Areas in Iraq
http://www.birdlife.net/news/iraq_iba_chapter.pdf

The Mesopotamian marshlands Endemic Bird Area
http://www.birdlife.net/news/eba_100.pdf

Related papers from 'Sandgrouse', the Journal of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East
http://www.birdlife.net/news/sandgrouse93_part1.pdf
http://www.birdlife.net/news/sandgrouse93_part2.pdf
http://www.birdlife.net/news/sandgrouse93_part3.pdf

Blogging a Theme

Let's get this new blogging experiment rolling! I'd just like to remind everyone what we are doing (and get it in writing). I would like you to each post something related to your theme and the country we will be discussing in the upcoming week. So for this week what can you find about envirnmental consequences of war in Saudi Arabia? Then the following week your post would be related to Iraq, etc. With this structure you will get a deeper understanding of your theme, and how it relates to different countries, while still staying focused on a particular place so we can have conversations across the different groups. Be creative in how you interpret your theme, if you can make the connection to us in your post--go for it!

So the assignment itself is at least 1 primary post and 1 comment. You may use your text from the blog within your moodle 'reflection paper' without penalty (not double dipping), but your reflection paper should also reflect on the reading assigned to the whole class.

If you have any questions, put them in the comments! :>