It's the Environment, Stupid.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Military Advises - Climate Change is a National Security Threat

You know it's getting serious when the military makes a public statment saying that global warming is threatening national security.

The new study entitled "National Security and the Threat of Climate Change" was put together by a non-profit research center, CNA Corporation, with help from their advisory board made up of retired, high ranking, military officers.

Even though the military officials that advised on this report are retired (and one tends to get a little freer with one's speech when one's job isn't on the line) they recommend that "[t]he U.S. should commit to a stronger national and international role to help stabilize climate changes at levels that will avoid significant disruption to global security and stability."

From a military perspective climate change and the scenarios that go with it become a geopolitical issue destined for conflict. By acting now and realizing the global nature of anticipated effects of climate change we could reduce the risk of future conflict.

The military is already one of the largest purchasers of wind power and invests in green technology research, mainly because it will save them money, but they often do these things on the down-low and don't make a big fuss or issue big reports on the matter.

Their conclusion here - that climate change is a threat to national security - should perk up the ears of the whitehouse. Afterall, GW alluded to something like that in his state of the union address, but it was rather vague and not at all straightforward as and one had to read between the speech writer's lines to put two and two together.

Via Green Options; ENS

4 Comments:

  • Good grief, they are just now announcing this? Ummm, haven't they noticed that a lot of the fighting in areas (like Darfur) are over lack of resources? But, then again, I suppose they aren't exactly noticing that there is fighting in Darfur.

    But, really, as resources (like water) get more scarce, you are going to see a lot more bickering. You see it now with riparian rights among the states along the Colorado River. That will only intensify when things warm up some more.

    By Blogger Crunchy Chicken, at 01:20  

  • Here's hoping that if a bunch of retired generals say it, the powers that be will take notice!

    Janis Mara
    www.ecotality.com

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 17:21  

  • Climate change IS a matter of national security. It affects food and way of life in dramatic ways. No need to be a general to know that.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 06:46  

  • Hey! Really interesting post. I linked to it from my blog (ecoelly.wordpress.com). It's nice to see that people are noticing the connections between the environment and other aspects of life.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:28  

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