Climate solutions and nuclear energy The full House Science, Space, and Technology Committee discussed climate hurdles and solutions in a January 15 hearing titled, “An update on the climate crisis: From science to solutions.” Interestingly, the main point of debate during this hearing was not whether climate change was occurring, but rather the economic impacts of climate […]
Extreme weather events and rising sea levels are causing damage to U.S. military facilities and could threaten U.S. military infrastructure around the world. “Is the military ready for climate change?,” asked Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA). “It is not.” “In the last 12 months, severe storms have devastated Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, Marine Corps Air […]
The Trump Administration budget request for FY 2018 would “severely reduce” Energy Department funding for development of carbon capture and sequestration technologies intended to combat the climate change effects of burning fossil fuels. The United States has “more than 250 years’ worth of clean, beautiful coal,” President Trump said last month, implying that remedial measures […]
The term “climate change” was included for the first time in the latest revision of the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (Joint Publication 1-02), published last week. Climate change is officially defined by DoD as “Variations in average weather conditions that persist over multiple decades or longer that encompass increases and […]
The Department of Defense is organizing itself to address the effects of climate change on the U.S. military, some of which are already being felt. “The DoD must be able to adapt current and future operations to address the impacts of climate change in order to maintain an effective and efficient U.S. military,” according to […]
The possible outcomes of the ongoing Paris climate change conference, and the challenges remaining to be overcome, are considered in a new report from the Congressional Research Service. See International Climate Change Negotiations: What to Expect in Paris, December 2015, November 27, 2015. The shifting numbers of U.S. troops and contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan […]
As I write this president’s message, the U.S. election has just resulted in a resounding victory for the Republican Party, which will have control of both the Senate and House of Representatives when the new Congress convenes in January. While some may despair that these results portend an even more divided federal government with a […]