Originally published April 15, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified April 15, 2007 at 2:03 AM
Military eyes threat from climate change
The U.S. military increasingly is focused on a potential national-security threat: climate change. The U.S. Army War College last month...
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military increasingly is focused on a potential national-security threat: climate change.
The U.S. Army War College last month funded a two-day conference titled "The National Security Implications of Global Climate Change." And 11 retired senior generals on Monday will release a report saying global warming "presents significant national-security challenges to the United States," which it must address or face serious consequences.
The 63-page report — to be released a day before the U.N. Security Council holds its first briefing on climate change — lays out a detailed case for how global warming could destabilize vulnerable states in Africa and Asia and drive a flood of migrants to richer countries. It focuses on how climate change "can act as a threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world," in part by causing water and food shortages.
The report's authors, along with other national-security experts, have confirmed that the military has begun studying possible effects of global warming with new intensity.
"It's only in the last six months that climate change itself has surfaced as a term that's commonly recognized as having security implications," said Kent Butts, a professor of political-military strategy at the War College's Center for Strategic Leadership.
The Army's former chief of staff, Gen. Gordon Sullivan, one of the authors, noted he had been "a little bit of a skeptic" when the study group began meeting in September. But, after being briefed by top climate scientists and observing changes in his native New England, Sullivan said he now was convinced that global warming presents a grave challenge to the country's military preparedness.
"The trends are not good, and if I just sat around in my former life as a soldier, if I just waited around for someone to walk in and say, 'This is with 100 percent certainty,' I'd be waiting forever," he said.
Part of the sense of urgency, the generals said in interviews, stems from the fact that changing climatic conditions will make it harder for weak nation-states to address citizens' basic needs.
The study notes that conflicts in regions such as Darfur and Somalia stemmed initially from a lack of resources, something that will worsen with global warming.
Climate change is different from traditional military threats, report author Vice Adm. Richard Truly said.
"It's going to happen to every country and every person in the whole world at the same time," he said.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Obama seeks equal partnership in Asia
NYC trial for 9/11 suspects poses risks
Fort Hood gunman contacted Pakistan, lawmaker says
Immigration on White House agenda

Opening day at Crystal Mountain
Skiers crowded the slopes at Crystal Mountain for one of the resort's earliest openings.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Seattle U. Men's Hoops | Big recruit goes from Huskies to Redhawks
- Razor found in muffin an accident, 'mortified' baker says
- Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
- Suspect's family shaken by slaying of police officer
- Mountlake Terrace woman reports razor in muffin
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
631 - Seattle man to pack a pistol into community center to protest mayor's ban
189 - Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
177 - GOP clueless as families struggle with health care
162 - KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
128 - ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
125 - Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
115 - Prosecutor weighs death penalty in police slaying
103 - Wright State game thread
97 - Person of interest in custody in connection with Greenwood arsons
94
- Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- Washington in race for federal education funds
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Goodwill's Glitter Sale is Nov. 14-15
- Boeing: 787 fix is complete on first plane
- Seattle U. Men's Hoops | Big recruit goes from Huskies to Redhawks





