War brings destruction and misery; domination for some and wounds to others, that is to say, on a political level. But ecologically, it brings disaster for all living, and even non-living, components of our planet. A good natural indicator is the climate, which affects all and is continually being driven toward an undesirable extreme by wars prevailing in several parts of the world.

Emissions of carbon and carbon-based compounds (carbon dioxide especially) are contaminating the environment that takes decades of efforts to be re-mediated. Tom Burke, of the University College London, points to this fact in his article War Passes, the Climate is Forever.

Rightfully complaining against the popular media’s general underemphasis on global climatic deterioration, as caused by the obsession with political affairs, Tom Burke alarms us that the need to cut global carbon emissions is urgent and we can see how the ignorance of the world’s politicians with respect to this necessity has added to this urgency.

As the writer critically recounts, he grew up in a world that had been engaged in spending billions of dollars on building weaponry it hoped never to use – the same self-defeating approach. For our world today, Tom Burke’s view goes beyond another reminder of the importance of global climate; it is an alarming call for global action against climate’s deterioration – action on a political level directed toward peace (not war). War kills some of us and leaves many survivors but climatic disaster will spare none.

Again we are bound to the will of our politicians. They have spent generations, through ages, dividing people through promises of domination and power, which (they claim) can bring prosperity to one group of people at the expense of others. Religion, science, culture, and literature have largely failed in preventing disastrous wars. Can environment, which is common to us all, play the vital ‘binding’ role? In December 2009, Copenhagen (Denmark) is about to host an international meeting on the issue.

Whether or not consensus on a common course of action for climatic melioration is achieved will depend on the knowledge and will of our politicians. However, media can play a key role in making the human need for a better climate sound important to our leaders. As people of pen, our duty comes first. How many of us are up for it?