Bending the Arc

November 6th is the United Nation’s International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.

This day was first observed in 2001. The U.N. attaches great importance to ensuring that action on the environment is part of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding strategies, because there can be no durable peace if the natural resources that sustain livelihoods and ecosystems are destroyed.

Though humanity has always counted its war casualties in terms of dead and wounded soldiers and civilians, destroyed cities and livelihoods, the environment has often remained the unpublicized victim of war. Water wells have been polluted, crops torched, forests cut down, soils poisoned, and animals killed to gain military advantage.

In her November 6, 2026, meditation, Rev. Cameron Trimble tells the incredible story of September 1971, where twelve people who boarded a small fishing boat in Vancouver, CA, and set out into the North Pacific with the goal of stopping the U.S. government from detonating a huge nuclear weapon under Amchitka Island in Alaska. The boat was named Greenpeace.

Rev. Trimble provides a brief historical account of the trip, and its results. In the end, the boat did not reach its goal by stopping the bomb, but it did something else. It drew attention. People started asking questions about the environmental effects of nuclear testing. Supporters came together, gave money, and connected with each other. It tells a significant story of how much ordinary people can do when they work together.

Read Rev. Trimble’s full meditation, which includes reflection questions, prayer, and a spiritual practice. May you all find your boat as stewards and advocates for justice in all its forms!