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Military Officials Connect Global Warming to National Security
-- Emma -- 05/16/2007
During a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Joe Biden described global warming as "a new and very different national security challenge." His statement came after eleven retired generals and admirals issued a report on the national security aspects of climate change. The kind of catastrophes likely to result - including rising sea levels, flooding, lack of access to clean water, and barriers to food production - almost always mean war. Particularly in already unstable regions, national governments will be incapable of coping with the worst effects of climate change. "Climate change will exacerbate many of the causes of instability that exist today-those instabilities are part of the underpinnings of extremism," retired ambassador and admiral Joseph Prueher testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Using Somalia as a model, retired Air Force general Charles Wald explained how environmental crises can lead to social and political breakdowns. Nigeria could potentially follow the same pattern if the Niger delta flooded or oil installations were damaged due to climate change. Not only could this cause chaos in the region, but the repercussions could harm American interests as well. "Ungoverned places filled with desperate people are also the perfect recruiting ground for terrorist groups," he said. Meanwhile, retired vice admiral Richard Truly warned that along the densely populated coasts of India and Bangladesh, rising sea levels "measured in inches" could turn millions of residents into refugees.
As Sen. Biden explained, the issues of national security, energy, and climate change all present the same challenge: "A strong domestic and international response that increases our energy security, that slows, stops and reverses the buildup of greenhouse gases."
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by Andrew Snow
by Andrew Snow
