Mike Signer is the chairman of the E3 Initiative of the Progressive Policy Institute and a principal of the Truman National Security Project. In 2009, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Virginia.

To some critics, the cause of alternative and sustainable energy will always be associated with the image of dewy-eyed do-gooders earnestly plying a hopeless cause. This caricature has helped opponents today, such as the conservative columnist George Will; by mocking activists as naive idealists, they make the cause they represent seem naive and hopeless as well.

However, it might surprise opponents--and even supporters--that the most innovative and effective actors in the carbon-reduction arena bear zero resemblance to this outdated cartoon. No hemp-wearing hippies here: Today, it's the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard who are aggressively pursuing plans for sustainable energy, reducing carbon, and achieving energy independence.

It's no mystery why: Our armed men and women are truly the point of the spear. The services aren't motivated just by the "soft power" of moral authority or the pursuit of idealism for its own sake. It's in fact "hard power" concerns--the security of our troops, the economic independence of our energy supply, and the long-term need to better control the geopolitical implications of climate change--that have driven the military to take the lead.

Consider the facts. Today, an infantry soldier on a three-day mission in Afghanistan carries over 25 pounds of batteries to charge his equipment, hampering his maneuverability and can even causing muscular-skeletal injuries. In Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. forces have suffered chilling casualties guarding convoys of trucks carrying oil. Meanwhile, every $10 increase in the price of oil translates into a $1.3 billion increase in the Pentagon's operating costs.

In all of these cases, clean energy and efficiency programs would not only help reduce our carbon output and achieve energy efficiency; they would directly increase the effectiveness of our military.

This helps explain why the military is taking energy efficiency so seriously. A group of generals and admirals recently presented their cases for action at a conference held by the Pew Global Initiative, the Center for Naval Analysis, and the Military Officers Association of America in Crystal City, Va.--a stone's throw from the Pentagon. Retired Sen. John Warner, a Virginia Republican, a former secretary of the Navy, and an ardent supporter of achieving new energy policies on national security grounds, headlined the meeting.

Their stories should silence skeptics and hearten supporters. Because of a concerted effort throughout the forces to achieve efficiency and enact alternative energy policies, energy use is down more than 10 percent since 2003. The Multi-National Force Iraq, for instance, has sprayed insulating foam on 9 million square feet of temporary structures--reducing energy by 40 to 75 percent--the equivalent of taking 12 fuel transport trucks off the road in Iraq every day. The Air Force is now purchasing 5percent of electricity from sustainable sources, including a 14.2 megawatt solar array at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada--the largest in America--which saves taxpayers $1 million a year. And the services are jointly developing "net zero" installations that produce as much energy as they use. These programs pair up nicely with the Navy and Marine Corps's Advanced Metering Infrastructure Program, which will place 12,000 more efficient meters around the world. Meanwhile, the Marines have announced plans to develop more efficient technology to reduce the battery packs troops carry.

Not only do these achievements show clean energy is deadly serious--they reveal a powerful new paradigm. As one commander put it at the Crystal City conference, the military is looking for "silver buckshot, not a silver bullet." The idea is that the military, through hundreds of pilot programs, investments, and new practices, can help seed the field for systemic change. Conversely, skeptics who try and shoot down positive action by saying that no single change can reduce carbon and achieve energy independence should hold their peace.

The new approach has received wide support not just at the planning and operational level within the Pentagon, but throughout the community of veterans. A new outfit called Operation Free includes hundreds of veterans from around the country asking Congress to act on climate change legislation. On a recent trip on Capitol Hill, I heard story after story from seasoned combat veterans about the frustration they felt guarding oil and water trucks--convoys that could be drastically reduced through alternative energy and efficiency measures in theater.

These experiences help explain why the military is ahead of the game. So every time you hear a skeptic attack climate change activists as hapless idealists, picture instead a young American soldier, weighed down by unnecessary battery packs, risking his or her life to protect an unnecessary fuel truck. That image alone should recharge the cause for clean energy.

A Few Simple Changes Will Green Your Thanksgiving Feast
Cara Smusiak

Between travel, disposable plates, paper napkins, pre-packaged and heavily processed foods, leftovers wrapped in tinfoil and plastic wrap, and food that ends up in the trash because we just cooked too much, there's a hefty environmental footprint associated with Thanksgiving.

Norman Borlaug: The Man Who Changed Everything
Norman Borlaug (March 25, 1914 - September 12, 2009)

Norman Borlaug, a plainspoken Iowa farm boy who worked his way through the University of Minnesota during the Depression. His death at 95 came at the end of a life as rich as the bountiful fields he left across the world. To quote the citation that came with his Nobel Prize in 1970, "More than any other single person of this age, he has helped provide bread for a hungry world."

Interview with India's Environment Minister
Jayshree Bajoria

India and China have long maintained their economic growth will suffer if they accept binding emission targets under an international agreement on climate change. Instead, they have called for mitigation commitments by the developed world and financial support from rich countries to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

Religious Groups Push for Climate Change Legislation
Dan Gilgoff

American religious traditions have emerged as a large part of the environmental movement. The stepped-up environmental efforts of religious groups in Washington have paralleled a grass-roots effort among religious Americans to green their congregations.

Even Skeptics Should Heed These Climate-Change Warnings
Robyn Blumner

To Global Warming Holdouts and Oil Drilling Enthusiasts: OK, maybe you don't care or believe that within a couple of generations global warming's effects on sea levels will swamp the world's coastlines, displacing hundreds of millions of people. However, you might want to get behind the push for alternative energy and a reduced carbon 'bootprint,' because our military says it's essential for American security

 

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable Available at Amazon.com (Click Here)

 

(C) 2009 U.S. News & World Report