The Great Global Cleanup
Peace and Planet: Every Environmentalist Should Champion Both
September 21, 2025
Shot in the leg during Japan’s advance into Burma in 1942, Japanese soldier Chiyoji Nakagawa lay alone, unconscious in a bell tower, uncertain if he would live to see another day. His entire
regiment had been wiped out and Nakagawa was alone. Fortunately, against the odds, he survived, and when he returned home to Japan, he made a commitment to himself to spread a newfound belief: No More Wars.
In 1951, Nakagawa, attended the United Nations 6th General Assembly in Paris, as an observer representing the Japanese U.N. Association. Despite Japan not being a UN member state at the time, he proposed constructing a Peace Bell using coins contributed by people from around the world who, like him, wished for peace. The UN agreed to his beautiful idea and in 1952, the United Nations Economic and Social Council officially gave their permission for the Bell to be formally accepted by the UN.
Nakagawa would go on to receive coins from 65 different nations, including the Soviet Union and the Vatican, with gold coins depicting Jesus and the Virgin Mary donated by Pope Pius XII. The Peace Bell was cast with thousands of coins and this inscription –“Long Live Absolute World Peace” in Japanese completed Nakagawa’s vision.
We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
Chief Seattle, as transcribed by Dr. Henry A. Smith in History of the Pacific Northwest 1887
Peace Bell in New York City
In 1953, the Peace Bell made its long journey from Japan to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, US. As a poignant symbol of peace, soil from Hiroshima and Nagasaki accompanied the Bell and was later buried beneath its foundation stone. These two cities serve as devastating reminders of the catastrophic potential of nuclear warfare.
The first and only use of nuclear weapons in war killed hundreds of thousands instantly, with many more dying in the aftermath due to the lingering effects of radiation. The bombings also wreaked havoc on the environment, scorching forests, contaminating soil, and poisoning water sources.
It wasn’t until 1981 that the United Nations General Assembly, under Resolution 36/67, declared a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. In 2001 the UN General Assembly officially established September 21 as the International Day of Peace and each year since, the UN has rung the Nakagawa’s Peace Bell outside its Headquarters, calling for global peace.
EARTHDAY.ORG, as one of the leaders of the environmental movement, works every day to unite communities, protect the planet, and create a safe, healthy, and livable future for all. But, we also know that caring for the environment isn’t possible without peace.
Today, nine countries have nuclear weapons, the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel (although Israel has a policy of ambiguity and has never officially confirmed its nuclear arsenal). Collectively they have over 13,000 nuclear warheads scattered around the globe. But, of course, nuclear weapons are not the only way war devastates the natural world.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, June 10, 1963 at the American University, Washington, D.C.
Ecocide is Real
Even without nuclear firepower, the impacts of war on the environment, whether as collateral damage or through intentional targeting, remain severe. This type of warfare on the environment that leads to severe, long-term, and widespread destruction has a name: Ecocide.
History shows us that the intentional targeting of natural resources is a strategy that is far from new. A scorched earth policy refers to completely destroying an enemy’s resources, including water sources, crops, forests, and any other natural resources. This strategy debilitates an enemy’s forces, but also directly affects the civilian population, leading to severe humanitarian crises that can last for generations. Today, we see ecocide unfolding in conflicts around the world.
Officials have documented several thousand cases of environmental destruction in Ukraine. Much of Ukraine’s 10 million hectares of forests has been destroyed in the conflict, causing over $30 billion in damage and wiping out wildlife habitats in the region. These burned forests alone released an estimated 6.75 million tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere.
In addition, more than 425,000 hectares of forest are contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance, threatening both people, wild animals and ecosystems for decades to come. Even the seas are not spared: increased sonar activity in the Black Sea has been linked to rising numbers of dead dolphins washing ashore.
The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in 2023 is one of the worst examples of the war’s environmental toll. When the dam was destroyed, it unleashed floods across an area roughly the size of Luxembourg. The torrent contaminated the river with industrial lubricants and heavy metals, threatening human health for years to come. Vast stretches of farmland were destroyed, and thousands of landmines were dislodged and swept downstream – their final locations still unknown. Water is repeatedly used as a weapon of war and as a result Ukraine plans to prosecute Russia for ecocide.
Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.
Dalai Lama, The World We Wish to See: Revolutionary Ideas for the New Century, 2001
War Destroys Nature and People
Fighting to protect the environment also means rejecting war. Which is why this year, for the 2025, International Day of Peace, EARTHDAY.ORG’s partner, Let’s Do It World is hosting World Cleanup Day in Kyiv, Ukraine. There, they are working with partners on the ground not only to clean up waste and pollution but also to call for the end of this destructive war, and support the rebuilding of Ukraine.
As environmentalists we know that true sustainability isn’t possible without peace. Today, in New York, the Peace Bell will be rung. This is a poignant reminder of the devastation that our species is capable of, but also the possibility of peace that we are also capable of creating. EARTHDAY.ORG’s 2025 theme, Our Power, Our Planet reminds us of the power and agency people have at an individual, community, and international level to create the world we want to see. Meaning if we want peace, we have the capability to choose it.
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