Environmental Costs of Militarism Explored in Talk at Smith

Barry Sanders, author of “The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism” and professor emeritus of history at Pitzer College, will give a talk at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 21, in Weinstein Auditorium, Wright Hall.

The event, which was originally scheduled for last February, is free and open to the public.

In “The Green Zone,” Sanders examines the environmental impact of U.S. military interventions overseas. In a period of scrutiny surrounding the social and economic impacts of the defense policies of the U.S. government, Sanders explores a completely different aspect of the situation and positions military activity as the single-greatest contributor to the worldwide environmental crisis, looking at everything from fuel emissions to radioactive waste to defoliation campaigns.

Sanders is a Fulbright Senior Scholar Grant recipient, has been nominated twice for the Pulitzer Prize and is the author of 11 books, including “Alienable Rights: The Exclusion of African Americans in a White Man’s Land;” “A is for Ox: Violence, Electronic Media and the Silencing of the Written Word;” and “Sudden Glory: Laughter as Subversive History.”

Sanders’ talk at Smith is co-sponsored by the Environmental Science and Policy Program, the Department of Anthropology, Smith Spirituality in Action, Five College Peace and World Security Studies, Five College Sustainability Studies Program, Mount Holyoke Miller Worley Center for the Environment, the Alliance for Peace and Justice and the Smith College Lecture Committee.

For disability access information or to request accommodations, call (413) 585-2407. To request a sign language interpreter specifically, call (413) 585-2071 (voice or TTY) or e-mail ODS@smith.edu. All requests must be made at least 10 days prior to the event.