The Environmental Impact of World War I

Throughout history, war has had a profound impact on the natural environment. It is frequently linked with famine, pollution, and other ecological disruptions that lead to disease or plagues of pests. Often however, we tend to think of the environmental impact of a conflict as limited to the area of the actual battlefield. The Western Front battlefields of WWI seem like the perfect examples of ecological disaster – and yet – the damage to rivers, fields, and forests in these areas was not the only environmental impact of the war. Radiating from the European epicenter of the conflict and making it a truly global war, was a scramble by all the warring powers for the natural resources needed to power the war effort. To discuss the global environmental impact of WWI, the World War I Podcast hosted Dr. Tait Keller, Associate Professor and Chair of History at Rhodes College and an expert on how warfare and energy extraction evolved during WWI. 

Have a comment about this episode? Send us a text message! (Note: we can read texts, but we cannot respond.)

Follow us:

• Twitter: @MacArthur1880
• Amanda Williams on Twitter: @AEWilliamsClark
• Facebook/Instagram: @MacArthurMemorial

www.macarthurmemorial.org