Thank goodness the DOD no longer has to worry about China invading Taiwan, North Korea having intercontinental missiles for their nuclear weapons, Iran getting nuclear weapons, or a superpower invading a country which could lead to a world war
Climate Change a Critical Challenge for DOD, Hicks Says
Virtually every person and organization across the globe is impacted by climate change, including the Defense Department, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks said.
The deputy secretary made her remarks virtually before the Worldwide Logistics Symposium 2022, today.
“Climate change is altering our planet right now — from contributing to severe weather events to sparking wildfires and driving drought conditions,” she said, adding it creates conditions that are challenging nation states and proving catastrophic for communities around the world.
The DOD Climate Risk Analysis makes clear that “‘Climate change is reshaping the geostrategic, operational and tactical environments with significant implications for U.S. national security and defense,'” Hicks said. “We are rapidly learning that it will increasingly set the context for our operations, with implications for readiness, resourcing and mission demand.”
Yes, because a whopping 1.5F increase in global temperatures after a big cool period is dangerous
Hicks outlined some examples:
- In the United States, “fire season has gotten progressively worse and has become a fire year,” according to National Guard Bureau Chief Army Gen. Dan R. Hokanson. From Fiscal Year 2016 to 2021, the number of personnel days the National Guard has dedicated to fire fighting has grown from 14,000 to more than 176,000. (there’s no actual increase in wildfires)
- Hicks visited Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, last year. The base was hit by Hurricane Sally in September 2020 and Hicks saw how climate-induced extreme weather is impacting Defense capabilities and critical missions. (hurricanes have always happened)
- In the Arctic, the changing climate affects ice melt, and it is opening the region to new geopolitical competition. (ice melts at the end of glacial periods)
- Because of sea-level rise, low elevation areas like the Marshall Islands, home to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, are at risk of disappearing altogether. (the Marshal islands are atolls, meaning they were created by corals, meaning the seas were much higher when they were created. Oh, and the seas are rising at 1.98mm per year, equivalent to .65 feet per 100 years, pretty much average. Should be way more for a Holocene warm period.)
Stupid examples
“The science is clear,” she noted. “As a nation and as a department, we must do our part to mitigate climate change. As [President Joe Biden] announced in November of last year, this means reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” Hicks said, adding that 75% of total federal greenhouse gas emissions come from DOD. “[Doing] our part to make significant changes to our energy use and increase our investments in energy technology will create substantial effects for the whole U.S. government.”
How about grounding Air Force 1 and Marine 1?
They did the same during obama administration and clinton administration. As i said before, the SECDEF is appointed by the president to do his agenda in dod.