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Michael Signer
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supporters--that the most innovative and effective actors in the carbon-reduction arena bear zero resemblance to this outdated cartoon.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
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
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
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
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
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.
Mike Signer is the chairman of the E3 Initiative of the