Friday, January 23, 2015

Military Adapting to Climate Change

Last October 20, C&E News had a short article on the military and climate change. This was prior to the resignation of the Secretary Hagel from the Department of Defense.
The basis of the article was the issuance of a Pentagon report entitled, "2014 Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap".. The general conclusion was that climate change could complicate military challenges ranging from infectious disease to terrorism. More specifically, "expected" climate change could involve rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, rising sea level and more extreme weather events.
My sincere compliments to Pentagon officials for recognizing that climate change can have a significant impact on military operations. My only criticism is the implication that Pentagon officials have been slow in recognizing the effects of climate change on their operations. We've always had climate change and will continue to do so. The mere fact that it occurs over a longer period of time, as opposed to weather, is not an excuse for ignoring it up to now.
Secretary of defense Chuck Hagel was not satisfied to leave climate change in the natural category to which it belonged. He had to go one step further and relate it to man-made activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels with generation of CO2 and the myth that CO2 affects climate change. It was the Obama playbook, and it is surprising that with this position, Pres. Obama found other causes to fire him.

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