download PDF - Imaging Notes

GUEST EDITOR IALFIGURE 1(continued from page 38)year for a period of six to 10 years,” (Guam’srepresentative in Congress, Madeleine Z.Bordallo) said.”Consider having to repeat that majormove because of the effects of rising sealevel in Guam. As the “National Securityand the Threat of Climate Change” reportby the CNA points out, “Lack of planningfor (critical defense installations) cancompromise them or cause them to beinundated, compromising military readinessand capability.” See .In fact, Pacific Island lawmakers whoattended a three-day general assemblyof the Pacific Island legislature on Guamin early May are very concerned fortheir own sustainability in light of globalwarming, and plan to meet again inNovember to discuss the effects of globalwarming on Pacific Islanders. Generalassembly delegate Alik J. Alik, vicespeaker of the Marshall Islands’ Nitijela(Parliament), said concerns about risingsea levels have prompted some peoplein the island republic to relocate, or toconsider relocating.The Army alone has more than 14 millionacres and over 2000 Installations, 12,000historical structures, a multi-billion dollarmilitary construction program, and a baseoperations program. Not only should theArmy be preparing for the effects of globalclimate change, but also it should examinehow its institutional processes are creatinggreenhouse gases, what the installationscan do to be a part of local, regional andnational solutions, and how the Army isgoing to adapt the 21st century base structureto the new realities of climate change.The defense authorization committeesare well aware of the need to engage themilitary in the new realities of climate change,and they are hard at work with authorizing theservices. However, the services themselvesmust embrace new ways of thinking aboutthis issue and about tackling those reformsto change the way the bureaucracy works.I offer the following six suggestionsonly as a starting point:Fund the New Energy TechnologiesThe Logistics Management Institutesaid in their review of “Winning the OilEndgame” that “Aggressively developingand applying energy-saving technologiesto military applications would potentiallydo more to solve the most pressing longtermchallenges facing the Department ofDefense (DOD) and our national securitythan any other single investment area.Recently, the Secretary of Defense calledupon the services to be more innovativeas they look at the technology, andmany have said the services have fallenwoefully behind in innovation. Yet, theirvery engagement can improve the entiremarketplace for technology. The EnergyIndependence and Security Act of 2007sets a standard for cutting greenhousegases, and both DOD and the privatesector have stated that the technology isavailable to meet these greenhouse gasrequirements.” Specialized programs ineach of the military services have shownimpressive results that need to be morebroadly implemented throughout DOD.Fix the Installation Organization StructureWhile the Department of Defense is in theprocess of developing a comprehensiveenergy strategy, there remains a lack ofintegration of environmental and energypolicy. Currently, the Army Installationsand Environment organization separatesenvironmental policy and practice from theenergy organization into two stovepipe organizations.While both of them are under thesame Assistant Secretary, they have almostno lines of communication, and the energyorganization sees their mission as getting thebest price of electricity for the installations. Ifthat price is dependent on coal, so be it. If itis delivered on a vulnerable antiquated grid,that is the problem of the energy provider.The environmental and energy teammust see their mission as a nationalsecurity mission, and it must be integrated.Ongoing information and trainingprograms like those started at theNational Defense University need to beexpanded to all service academies andoffered throughout the training infrastructurein the services.Deploy more versatile fuelsDuring my tenure with the Army, there wasgreat resistance to looking at renewableenergy or distributed systems. While theinstallations planners have developed36IMAGING NOTES // S UMMER 2008 // WWW.IMAGINGNOTES.COM