Energy key to overall security
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share thisEnergy security is national security.
There are some obvious aspects to that formula, such as the need to be ready to intervene militarily in regions where the oil supply is at risk. Reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil supplies inherently would reduce defense costs while making the nation more secure.
But as the Pentagon itself has pointed out, the use of energy as it relates to climate change is one of the key national security issues of this century. The need to move to cleaner energy as a matter of national security also is the theme of Operation Free, a group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who recently visited Scranton.
The military must be prepared to respond wherever political instability threatens American interests. Climate change is one of the major emerging drivers of political instability because it affects the elements that create instability - drought, famine, inequitable distribution of scarce resources, border wars over access to water, flooding and other natural disasters, and a host of other factors.
As Congress begins to deal with climate change legislation it also must be aware that it is dealing with national security. It should move aggressively for alternative fuel development, greater use of renewable energy sources, conservation and other means to increase energy efficiency, clear the air and water, and mitigate the security threats posed by global warming.
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