Climate change is real. The Pentagon, the National Intelligence Council, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency all agree on this basic fact. Climate change also acts as ‘threat multiplier,’ which means over time it will increase the number of reasons why our military must fight.
Here are some examples:
- A warming climate will melt the Himalayan Glaciers—a source of water for both Pakistan and India. The world will look to the U.S. military to prevent a water-conflict between these two nuclear powers.
- A reduction in life-sustaining resources will also force large populations to migrate in search of food and water. This will lead to increased religious and ethnic confrontations between unfamiliar groups.
- A lack of resources will accelerate the rate of destabilization in weak states, resulting in fertile recruiting and training grounds for terrorist groups.
History has shown that we will frequently encounter conditions that require us to fight a necessary war—there will always be a fanatic hiding somewhere in a cave and there will always be mad men who control the apparatus of a state. We are lucky to have millions of brave men and women who volunteer to fight on our behalf in these circumstances. The very least we can do in return is ensure that we work to minimize the reasons why they fight. We have an opportunity to act on climate change, to protect our military and to improve our national security, all in one-fell-swoop.
Next week, Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA) will introduce a bill in the Senate to combat climate change and to change our energy policy. This is a necessary step for ensuring our national security. And we can do our military a great service by passing this legislation.
I completely agree. Senator Kerry is right: “it’s all about one word: security. Economic Security, energy security, national security.” Also, for every $5 increase in a barrel of oil: Putin gets $18 billion more per year, Ahmadinejad: $8 billion, and Hugo Chavez: $5 billion. Let’s stop letting them dictate our foreign policy and instead take control over our energy future.