Wilson “Woody” Powell served in the Air Force during the Korean war. But in the decades since, he’s become staunchly anti-war.

Through the group Veterans for Peace, Powell has spoken out against conflicts, sought justice for civilian victims, and mentored veterans with PTSD.

Now he’s turned his attention to yet another cost of war: the climate.

“War plays a big role in climate change,” he says. “All the wars that are fought over fossil fuels, for instance. Wars that are fought on smaller levels over hardwood forests in South and Central America. The carbon footprint of the U.S. military itself, which is very, very large.”

Powell recently drafted a resolution that urges all Veterans for Peace chapters to take climate action and help educate students and others about the issue.

“I was brought up during World War II,” he says. “I was nine years old when it started, and I saw the mobilization that went on … where we completely switched over our manufacturing facilities from making refrigerators and automobiles to making tanks and planes and so forth.”

He says it will take a similar level of commitment to defeat global warming.

And he hopes veterans across the country can help win this fight.

Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media.