Veterans of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are among the strongest advocates for clean energy in America today. We understand the need to rein in climate-altering pollution better than most. We see with stark clarity the need for America to break its reliance on foreign oil.

As Eric Greenburg pointed out yesterday, the general young adult population is largely better informed about the threat of climate change than older generations. Millennials 30-and-under, in particular, tend to be scientifically minded and environmentally conscious. And it is the Millennials and future generations that will live to actually experience the full, global effects of a changed climate if our reliance on fossil fuels continues unabated.
But veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom are even stronger advocates for these issues. Why?

Because we understand our national security depends on it. And we know the consequences of failure will fall most heavily on our fellow servicemen and women.

Our service in Iraq or Afghanistan gave us a full appreciation of how oil reliance has a constraining affect on our foreign policy. We’ve seen first-hand how petro-dollars support corrupt dictatorships abroad, which breeds resentment among local populations and makes our mission that much more difficult.

We know that more clean energy production at home can give America the power to control its own energy future and end our unintentional support for oppressive regimes. If crude oil prices fall just $5 per barrel, that’s mean $18 billion less of our dollars go to Russia, $8 billion less for Iran, and $5 billion less to Venezuela.

We also know that our generation of servicemen and women will be called upon someday soon to respond to regional wars for resources and natural disasters abroad that affect our national security, prospects make more likely and more devastating by a changing climate. It is our ranks that will be forced to contend with new failed states in South Asia and Africa, where extremist groups will flock to for haven and the promise of new recruits.

Young veterans see the challenges of energy dependence and climate change more clearly in large part because we will face the consequences of them in our later years, perhaps even on the battlefield. But we also know that strong action now can ease the burden on future servicemen and women. That is what we fight for today.

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