Powering America’s Defense

Powering America’s Defense:
Energy and the Risks to National Security

http://www.cna.org/documents/poweringamericasdefense.pdf

"1. The nation’s current energy posture is a serious and urgent threat to national security.
- a. Dependence on oil undermines America’s national security on multiple fronts.
- b. The U.S.’s outdated, fragile, and overtaxed national electrical grid is a dangerously weak link in the national security infrastructure.
2. A business as usual approach to energy security poses an unacceptably high threat level from a series of converging risks.
3. Achieving energy security in a carbon-constrained world is possible, but will require concerted leadership and continuous focus.
4. The national security planning processes have not been sufficiently responsive to the security impacts of America’s current energy posture.
5. In the course of addressing its most serious energy challenges, the Department of Defense can contribute to national solutions as a technological innovator, early adopter, and testbed."

“While climate change alone does not cause conflict, it may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden to respond on civilian institutions and militaries around the world.”

Renergizing America's Defense

From the forward:

In the fall of 2009, The Pew Charitable Trusts, CNA and the Military Officers Association of America sponsored a forum to discuss the considerable progress being made by our military to meet the intertwined challenges of climate change, energy security, economic stability and national security. Presentations by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps detailed the impressive initiatives and innovations currently under way. They reflected the ingenuity and vigor with which the men and women of our armed forces, as well as their civilian partners in DoD, are addressing these interrelated challenges.

Amen to this. We badly need to get off the oil that provides our enemies with the funds to attack us. It drives me crazy we are unwilling to do this.