• woodrow wilson center
  • ecsp

New Security Beat

Subscribe:
  • mail-to
  • Who We Are
  • Topics
    • Population
    • Environment
    • Security
    • Health
    • Development
  • Columns
    • China Environment Forum
    • Choke Point
    • Dot-Mom
    • Navigating the Poles
    • New Security Broadcast
    • Reading Radar
  • Multimedia
    • Water Stories (Podcast Series)
    • Backdraft (Podcast Series)
    • Tracking the Energy Titans (Interactive)
  • Films
    • Water, Conflict, and Peacebuilding (Animated Short)
    • Paving the Way (Ethiopia)
    • Broken Landscape (India)
    • Scaling the Mountain (Nepal)
    • Healthy People, Healthy Environment (Tanzania)
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Contact Us

NewSecurityBeat

The blog of the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program
  • “Greening” the Military An Issue at Chuck Hagel Hearings?

    February 1, 2013 By Schuyler Null

    ECSP Senior Advisor and Ohio University Professor Geoff Dabelko appeared on Marketplace yesterday to comment on Defense Secretary Nominee Chuck Hagel’s confirmation hearings and whether the Pentagon’s pursuit of renewable energy and other “green” technologies might enter the discussion.

    Though the relative cost and performance of biofuels versus conventional fuels is often the biggest topic of debate this arena, Dabelko said that the U.S. military’s efforts are not just about fuel.

    “It’s even what paint you put on the hulls because it lasts longer, goes through the water faster, these kinds of things,” Dabelko told Nancy Marshall-Genzer.

    And it’s not just about being more environmentally friendly either. Improving efficiency, in everything from air conditioning and electronics to vehicle engines, also means fewer fuel convoys, which are frequent targets of attack, said Andrew Holland, a former Hagel aid now with the American Security Project.

    More efficient engines can also improve the range vehicles of all types and electric or hybrid engines can be quieter than their conventional counterparts.

    Said former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen in 2010:

    We in the Defense Department have a role to play here – not solely because we should be good stewards of our environment and our scarce resources but also because there is a strategic imperative for us to reduce risk, improve efficiencies, and preserve our freedom of action whenever we can.

    For more on the U.S. military’s efforts to become more efficient and use less petroleum, see the Navy’s Great Green Fleet site, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy, Andrew Holland’s work at the American Security Project as well as reports from the Center for a New American Security and CNA.

    Audio Credit: Marketplace/American Public Media; Photo: The U.S. Secretary of Defense’s flickr account.

    Topics: biofuels, conflict, energy, environment, media, military, oil, security, U.S.

Join the Conversation

  • RSS
  • subscribe
  • facebook
  • G+
  • twitter
  • iTunes
  • podomatic
  • youtube
Tweets by NewSecurityBeat

Trending Stories

  • unfccclogo1
  • Pop at COP: Population and Family Planning at the UN Climate Negotiations

Featured Media

Backdraft Podcast

play Backdraft
Podcasts

More »

What You're Saying

  • shutterstock_1503568094 The Environmental Collateral Damage of the South China Sea Conflict
    NSB Administrator: I'm banning Jay from commenting. Please do not leave anymore hateful comments on any of our...
  • shutterstock_1503568094 The Environmental Collateral Damage of the South China Sea Conflict
    Quincy: This is entirely uncalled for.
  • Orange the World 2017 - Bangladesh Daulatdia: A Look Into One of the World’s Largest Brothels
    Quincy: ale, let's focus on the bigger picture here, I don't think a single character error is worth more...

Related Stories

No related stories.

  • woodrow
  • ecsp
  • RSS Feed
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Home
  • Who We Are
  • Publications
  • Events
  • Wilson Center
  • Contact Us
  • Print Friendly Page

© Copyright 2007-2023. Environmental Change and Security Program.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. All rights reserved.

Developed by Vico Rock Media

Environmental Change and Security Program

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

  • One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
  • 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  • Washington, DC 20004-3027

T 202-691-4000