Kosovo's Wounded Environment

The ecological consequences of the two-month-long North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bombing campaign in Kosovo are likely to reach catastrophic proportions, threatening to have long-lasting effects throughout the Balkans.

The NATO arsenal used in the Yugoslavian province contained some of the military's most powerful weapons. According to researcher Alphonse MacDonald, a heavy bomb such as a 1,000-pound Tomahawk cruise missile can generate temperatures up to 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit. "This not only annihilates all flora and fauna, but also destroys the lower levels of the soil, which can take anywhere from 1,500 to 7,400 years to regenerate," he says.

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