I turn now to a discussion of the environmental effects of war, because I believe these effects to be significant to feminists for two basic reasons. Though women are no more essentially connected to nature than any other organic beings, cultural constructions associate women with nature and help justify the mistreatment of both. Many feminists and ecological feminists have discussed these problematic conceptual connections as created or fueled by the dichotomous thinking discussed above (Griffin 1989; King 1990; Warren 1990; Cuomo 1992; Plumwood 1993). Others, including Vandana Shiva and Maria Mies (1993), focus on the practical, or material connections between environmental degradation and women's oppression. In any case, if women's oppression is connected to the unjustified destruction of nature, or if, as Karen Warren argues, feminists must be against oppression in any form, including the oppression of nature, it is arguable that the ecological effects of war and militarism are feminist issues. Because military ecological destruction occurs primarily "during peacetime," and because it is so directly tied to other forms of ecological and social violence, attention to the ecological impacts of war further illustrates the limitations of only thinking of war in terms of events.
cultural constructions associate women with nature and help justify the mistreatment of both the ecological effects of war and militarism are feminist issues. Because military ecological destruction occurs primarily "during peacetime," and because it is so directly tied to other forms of ecological and social violence, attention to the ecological impacts of war further illustrates the limitations of only thinking of war in terms of events.