Air conditioning the desert

Retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson served as General David Petraeus’s chief logistician in Iraq. He says the Pentagon should find ways to make structures at FOBs and other military compounds more energy efficient, not only to save money and be greener, but also, to save lives. We’re spending about $20 billion a year to air condition tents and temporary structures, Anderson says, and at least a thousand Americans have died hauling fuel to support troops in the field. He says there are better ways to do it. A very interesting report here from “The World.”

Although the Pentagon clearly views climate change as a security threat, Congressmen don’t quite get it, according to a Grist article:

Unfortunately, the House Armed Service Committee’s National Defense Authorization Act [PDF], H.R. 1540, would reverse this progress. Section 844 of the bill would actually allow the military to use alternative fossil fuels that produce more pollution than conventional fuels. The additional pollution would exacerbate global warming, which in turn would make our nation less secure.

Anderson is retired, but I hope he continues to speak up.