By Andrea Kelly | Arizona Daily Star | September 2, 2010

Written by Marc A. Sorel

DEVELOPMENTS The U.S. government’s recent donation of $13.5 million to support the United Nations’ World Food Program operations in Yemen epitomizes U.S. and other western nations’ concerns with Yemen’s deteriorating natural resources. As its resources deteriorate, the Yemeni government is facing growing threats to its national security. The growing presence of Al-Qaeda and other extremists, the Houthi rebellion in the north of the country, and an increasingly hostile protest movement, all spurred by lack of access to basic goods, threaten to make large swaths of the country, if not the entire nation, ungovernable. Although some of these issues are attributable to mismanagement by the Yemeni government or the government’s lack of military equipment, other factors, including climate change, play a significant role. Yemen’s rapidly diminishing water resources are one example of how climate change, exacerbated by poor resource management, is contributing to national and regional instability in Yemen and the Middle East. BACKGROUND The forecasts for Yemen’s water supply are uniformly dire. Negatively affected by drought and shifting weather patterns, annual water consumption per capita, at 200 cubic meters, is 80 percent below the water poverty line of 1000 cubic meters. The country’s capital, Sana’a, whose 7% annual population growth rate is the highest of any nation’s capital in the world, is expected to run out of economically viable water supplies by 2017, the same year the World Bank predicts Yemen will cease earning income from its oil, which accounts for three-quarters of the country’s annual income. The options for replacing the city’s expired water supply are as stark as the problem – pump desalinated water from the ocean up 2,000 meters to the capital; transfer water from a nearby basin separated from Sana’a by mountains; or move the capital elsewhere. Weather patterns often associated with the effects of climate change have accelerated Yemen’s water woes. An unusually long drought has left 19 of the country’s 21 aquifers permanently dry. The climate-based challenges Yemen faces do not end with access to freshwater. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ranked the Yemeni port city of Aden sixth among twenty-five cities vulnerable to rising sea levels. Rising sea levels can contaminate water supplies, damage infrastructure, and make portions of coastal cities uninhabitable because of regular flooding or submersion. Aware of its environmental vulnerabilities, the Yemeni government has acted to combat climate change. During the first Earth Summit in 1992, Yemen became party to the United Nations Committee on Climate Change, which was internationally implemented in 1994. Yemen’s accession to the Kyoto Protocol was approved in September 2004. Since then, the Yemeni government has consistently supported efforts to responsibly manage Yemen’s water supply. In 2008, the government unveiled a plan to gather and harvest 70 percent of rainwater by 2012 in Sana’a. According to the plan, other parts of the country would collect 40 percent of rainwater by 2020. Yet the Yemeni government’s initiatives have yet to bare substantive fruit. Fund-raising efforts by the international community to support Yemen’s strategy have yet to meet fundraising goals. Even money raised and dispensed has had little effect or affect on the Yemeni government’s efforts to contain the multiple violent movements throughout the country that threaten to plunge the country into chaos before its wells run dry. A collapsed Yemen would be problematic for the region, creating a sanctuary for extremist movements adjacent to the region’s leading oil producer, Saudi Arabia. ANALYSIS Substantive action on climate change is unlikely to occur before Yemen’s water crisis becomes significantly worse. The solution to the country’s water problems must begin with reform of water usage by its agricultural sector. This requires re-allocating water away from the thirsty plants of the qat leaf, a mild narcotic that consumes 40 percent of Yemen’s water and is chewed by approximately 70 percent of Yemeni men. Yemen’s leaders must find the rhetoric and cultivate the constituencies that will permit this culturally sensitive transition to occur with a minimum of conflict. But the scope of Yemen’s resource and security problems are such that the Yemeni government cannot act alone to improve its stewardship of water and other climate change-affected resources. Support from the international community is essential. Yemen should work most closely with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, especially wealthy Saudi Arabia, which has a vital national interest. Even as it addresses its short-term problems, the Yemeni government must continue to pursue long-term solutions, both on climate change through diplomatic means, and on water usage through research and development. In this way, it will ensure a sustainable solution to the problems that threaten its ability to govern. Marc A. Sorel is Middle East Regional Editor at Foreign Policy Digest.

OPERATION FREE
Secure America with Clean Energy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 1, 2010

CONTACT

David Solimini, 757-876-0295

Arizona Veterans Set Record Straight on Energy, Troops & Security, Condemn Irresponsible anti-Giffords Ad

Ad ignores the casualties caused by need to transport fuel in combat zones & disrespects General Petraeus.

Veterans ask Conservatives for Congress to pull down ad & apologize

Arizona veterans today responded to an ad by special interest group Conservatives for Congress which attacks Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8) for supporting the Department of Defense in their attempt to decrease energy use on the battlefield. Significant American casualties occur during the transport of fuel to troops in forward operating bases across Iraq and Afghanistan, and Giffords’ questions on the topic demonstrate that she understands the threats our troops face.

The complete, unedited, question and answer can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ww0ojjhtGc&feature=player_embedded

The ad disrespectfully manipulates the words of General David Petraeus, commander of forces in Afghanistan, as well, showing just how out of touch with American values “Conservatives for Congress” is. Today’s military leaders, and Congresswoman Giffords, understand the important connection between energy and security, a connection this reckless ad ignores.

Arizona veterans on the call particularly highlighted how the ad disrespects the dangerous work of hauling fuel in the streets of Baghdad and Kabul, and featured a serviceman who performed that duty, an assignment that that has cost the lives of many men and women in uniform.  In light of the consensus view of the US military and intelligence community on the threat posed by America’s short-sighted climate and energy policy, the veterans asked Conservatives for Congress to remove this reckless ad from the air.

Speakers on the call included: Former commander of Arizona’s Davis-Montham Air Force Base Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, US Air Force (ret.); US Marine Corps Iraq War veteran and Arizona native Ruben Gallego; US Army Iraq War veteran and Arizona native Mark Cardenas; and Operation Free Campaign Director and US Marine Corps veteran Jonathan Murray.

“I and the rest of the veterans of Operation Free want to thank Congressman Giffords for doing more than just putting a yellow ribbon on her car,” said Ruben Gallego, Arizona native and US Marine Corps Iraq War veteran. “While many members of Congress talk a big game about supporting our troops, Congresswoman Giffords’ actions are not only saving the Department of Defense billions of dollars, but also directly protecting our troops in combat.”

“This ad manipulates the words of our senior military leadership and disrespects the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform,” said Jonathan Murray, US Marine Corps veteran and Operation Free campaign manager. “hauling oil across the mountains of Afghanistan and through the streets of Bagdad is deadly work. These people owe the men and women who do that work an apology. America’s dependence on oil puts money into the hands of terrorists around the world. And at the same time carbon pollution is destabilizing nations like Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Nigeria, and Afghanistan, creating safe havens for terrorists. This isn’t a political issue, this is a question of American security.”

US military leaders have recognized the threat posed by climate change and begun to prepare for climate-caused challenges. The CIA, the Defense Department, and the National Intelligence Council have all noted that climate change will increase instability in critical parts of the world. Earlier this year, in an unprecedented statement, the Department of Defense highlighted broad geopolitical and security threats posed to the United States by climate change when it released the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR).

Operation Free is a coalition of veterans and national security organizations dedicated to securing America with clean energy. Operation Free sponsors the Veterans for American Power National Tour, a 29 state tour by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans making the connection between energy policy and national security. Learn more at www.OperationFree.net. Operation Free is an advocacy campaign of the Truman National Security Project.

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OPERATION FREE
Secure America with Clean Energy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 1, 2010

CONTACT

David Solimini, 757-876-0295

TODAY: Veterans to Set Record Straight on Energy and Afghanistan, respond to irresponsible anti-Giffords ad

Ad ignores the casualties caused by need to transport fuel in combat zones

Veterans will ask Conservatives for Congress to pull down ad, apologize

In response to an ad by Conservatives for Congress which attacks Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8) for her strong support of the Department of Defense’s efforts to reduce oil consumption on the battle field, veterans and security experts will highlight the group’s dangerous ignorance of the challenges of 21^st century conflict.  They will discuss the fact that the ad manipulates General Petraeus’ words, ignores military leadership, and disrespects the dangerous work of hauling fuel in the streets of Baghdad and Kabul, a service that has cost the lives of many men and women in uniform.  In light of the consensus view of the US military and intelligence community on the threat posed by America’s short-sighted climate and energy policy, veterans will ask Conservatives for Congress to remove this reckless ad from the air.

WHO:

Ruben Gallego, US Marine Corps and Iraq War veteran and Arizona native

Mark Cardenas, US Army and Iraq War veteran and Arizona native

Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, US Air Force (ret.), former commander of Arizona’s Davis-Montham AFB

Jonathan Murray, US Marine Corps veteran and Operation Free Campaign Director

WHERE: 209-647-1075, Access Code 892222#

WHEN: TODAY @ 10:00 a.m. Pacific, 1:00 p.m. Eastern

Operation Free is a coalition of veterans and national security organizations dedicated to securing America with clean energy. Learn more at www.OperationFree.net.

The Truman National Security Project is a leadership institute which trains progressives to lead on national security issues. Learn more at www.TrumanProject.org.

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Chris Miller / Progressive Fix / August 11, 2010

Chris Miller is a Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge recipient and eight-year U.S. Army veteran, having served two tours in Baghdad, Iraq. He is currently a law student and a fellow with the Truman National Security Project.

As a U.S. Army veteran I am used to dealing with the military, an organization that, by necessity, takes swift and decisive action when necessary, despite the fact that many see it as a conservative organization that is resistant and slow to change.  In Washington, I am becoming used to dealing with another organization that is much more conservative and even more resistant and slower: the United States Senate.  I am proud to say that the U.S. military is once again taking decisive action on energy independence and security, as well as addressing the military repercussions of climate change.  The military is taking action where the United States Congress will not.

On July 27 I attended the White House Forum on Energy Security along with a group of veterans from Operation Free, a nationwide coalition of military veterans from all eras and ranging from Privates and Airmen to Generals and Admirals – all of whom support the goal of energy independence, security, and addressing the national security repercussions of climate change.

We have collectively been touring and speaking throughout the country and in Washington, D.C. in support of breaking our dependence on largely foreign oil and pushing Congress to take real steps toward a comprehensive clean energy climate plan.  We have come to support the American Power Act developed through a bipartisan effort by Senators John Kerry and Lindsey Graham with Senator Joseph Lieberman and cooperation from the White House.

July 27 was supposed to be the day that the Senate finally took real action on the issue we have all been working hard for over the past year.  It didn’t happen.  As we all got on airplanes throughout the country in high spirits, something was happening on Capitol Hill: nothing.

By the time we hit ground in Washington, D.C. we learned that everything had changed.  The Senate didn’t have the sixty votes needed to proceed to an up-or-down vote on the bill.  We went to the Hill again to meet with fence-sitting Senators and their staff.  The opinion we encountered there was disappointing, but not surprising: we need to do something about the issues of energy security, energy independence, and climate change, but we’re not going to do anything now.

Some, echoing Republican sentiment, said the issue hadn’t been discussed enough yet, that the Senate process of debate and hearings needs to be completed, that it would force them to choose ‘winners and losers’ and they are not ready to do that.

Hadn’t been discussed enough? We’ve been talking about energy security and independence since the 1970s.  Other countries are taking action while we are being left behind. The CIA includes repercussions of climate change and our dependence on foreign fossil energy in its assessments.  The State Department does as well.

Now the U.S. military is taking serious steps to address the issue.  It devoted an entire section of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review Report (p. 84) to responding to climate change issues.  Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has expressed a clear vision of a force independent of fossil fuels.  The military is taking action by reducing the use of fossil fuels, researching the use of alternative sources, and increasing the efficiency of its energy use, whether on battlefield outposts in Afghanistan or home installations in Texas.  Speakers from each branch of the U.S. military have discussed similar opinions, expressing that action on this issue shouldn’t be taken for political reasons, but for security reasons.  The money we pay for oil goes to regimes opposed to our interests. The cost of procuring, transporting, and securing that fuel is extreme, in dollars and to the lives of our troops.

This contrasts greatly with the attitude of too many Senators, who continue to choose politics over security.  The U.S. Congress trusts the military and veterans on other security issues.  Energy independence, energy security, and planning for the possible consequences of climate change are national security issues.  The military is taking action, even if Congress won’t.  If they’ll listen on other national security issues, let’s hope they’ll trust the military when it comes to a comprehensive clean energy climate plan that makes us energy independent.

Full article here.