Veterans advocate energy policy
By Kermit Miller
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 6:15 p.m.
It’s a familiar point of view held by an uncommon group of advocates.
A bus tour of war veterans is rolling across the county calling for a national energy policy that recognizes climate change as a threat to national security.
The bus represents “operation free”, a collection of people with military backgrounds who believe in the science of climate change.
“Our dependence on fossil fuels threatens our economic and national security,” Iraq War Veteran Raf Noboa said.
Some said their activism was born of their wartime experience.
“All the time spent doing rollover drills and weapons checks really made me think about reducing threats before they happen… pulling everything within the perimeter …making everything as safe as possible,” Iraq War Veteran Billy Froeschner said.
They said they began to take climate change seriously when the pentagon did. They believe it contributes for poor living conditions elsewhere in the world and that leads to unstable political situations.”
“Many times it’s American troops that go overseas to stabilize those regions as well…” US Marine Corps Matt Victoriano said.
One veteran of desert storm saw the burning oil fields in Iraq and it changed his attitude about that war.
“The reason that we were there was to protect oil for America,” Desert Storm Veteran Ed May said.
Even so, they insist there is not a political mission. They simply think America’s consumption of fossil fuels will lead ultimately to a devastation of the natural environment here.
“We’re not policy experts and we’re not trying to take a side,” Froeschner said. “But we do want clean American power and we want it soon.”
The bus tour is divided into two groups.
One covers northern states.
The other hits southern states.
The group that passed through Jefferson City expects to wrap up Oct. 25 in Tampa, Fla.
I am so grateful to these wonderful veterans from many different frames of reference from Dessert Storm to Iraq and Afganistan to see what happened around them when they were serving and know this is all about the USA’s dependance on foreign oil. Hear them, see them and be inspired to lobby for less energy use and freedom from foreign oil.