At
an energy policy forum last year, former CIA Director James Woolsey
told a story about testifying before a House committee about steps that
should be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
After
listening to a tirade from a Republican congressman about climate
change, Woolsey pointed out to his critic that seven out of his nine
recommendations made sense for making the U.S. more secure, even if
climate change were not an issue.
Woolsey’s point was that
there is a great deal of overlap between fighting climate change and
making the U.S. more secure. Even if thousands of scientists were
somehow wrong and climate change were not an issue, it would make sense
to reduce oil dependence and diversify the U.S. energy menu in order to
strengthen national security.
It’s a point that distinguished
military leaders and defense experts are making as the Senate gears up
for a debate on climate legislation this fall.
A statement
signed September 8 by a bipartisan who’s who of former senators and
senior officials from the Reagan, Bush 41, and Clinton administrations
warns that “climate change is a national security issue.” The longer
the U.S. waits to act, the greater the risk that climate-related
humanitarian disasters and resulting political instability would
endanger the U.S.
The Military Advisory Board of the Center for
Naval Analysis, a panel of retired generals and admirals, including
former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon Sullivan, has published two
reports spotlighting the security risks of climate change and of oil
dependence, a source of greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change.
Former
Senator John Warner (R-VA), a former chairman of the Senate Armed
Services Committee and secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974, said in
July 21 testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “Global
climate change has the potential, if left unchecked, of adding missions
to the already heavy burdens of our military and other elements of our
nation’s overall national security.”
At the same hearing,
retired Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, former deputy Chief of Naval
Operations and commander of the Third Fleet, recommended that Congress
move the U.S. off the dangerous energy path that the nation is on:
“It
requires concerted, visionary leadership and continuous, long term
commitment. It requires moving away from fossil fuels, and diversifying
our energy portfolio with low carbon alternatives. It requires a price
on carbon. And perhaps most importantly, it requires action now.”
Republicans
have always had a good record of heeding the advice of the nation’s
military leaders—a wise habit that has served our nation well. It would
be a mistake of Carter-like proportions to ignore them now.
