Providing for the Common Defense

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: So physics and chemistry show us carbon dioxide is at levels never seen in human history. And the evidence says it's all of us burning fossil fuels that's driving the increase. But what about climate change and global warming... are they for real? Here's what those who have looked at all the data say about the future.

3RD PARTY VOICE: Climate change, energy security and economic stability are inextricably linked. Climate change will contribute to food and water scarcity, will increase the spread of disease, and may spur or exacerbate mass migration.

DR RICHARD ALLEY: Who do you suppose said that? Not a pundit, not a politician... the Pentagon.

[machine gun fire]

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: These war games at Fort Irwin, California, provide realistic training to keep our soldiers safe. The purpose of the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review, the Q.D.R. is to keep the nation safe. The review covers military strategies for an uncertain world. The Pentagon has to think long-term, and be ready for all contingencies. The 2010 Q.D.R. was the first time that those contingencies included climate change. Rear Admiral David Titley is Oceanographer of the Navy, and contributed to the Defense Review.

REAR ADMIRAL DAVID TITLY: I think the Q.D.R. really talks about climate change in terms that really isn't for debate. And you take a look at the global temperatures... you take a look at sea level rise, you take a look at what the glaciers are doing, not just one or two glaciers but really glaciers worldwide, and you add all of those up together, and that's one of the reasons we really believe that the climate is changing. So the observations tell us that. Physics tells us this as well.

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: What climate change means for key global hot spots is less clear.

REAR ADMIRAL DAVID TITLY: We understand the Earth is getting warmer, we understand the oceans are getting warmer. What we do not understand is exactly how that will affect things like strong storms, uh, rainfall rates, rainfall distribution. So yes, climate change is a certainty, but what is it going to be like in specific regions of the world and when?

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: One area of particular concern to the Navy is sea level rise.

REAR ADMIRAL DAVID TITLY: Sea level rise is going to be a long-term and very, very significant issue for the 21st Century.

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: The Q.D.R. included an "infrastructure vulnerability assessment" that found that 153 naval installations are at significant risk from climatic stresses. From Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to Norfolk, Virginia, the bases and their nearby communities will have to adapt.

REAR ADMIRAL DAVID TITLY: Even with one to two meters of sea level rise, which is very, very substantial, we have time. This is not a crisis, but it is certainly going to be a strategic challenge.

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: Globally, climate change is expected to mean more fires, floods and famine. Nations may be destabilized. For the Pentagon, climate change is a threat multiplier. But with sound climate science, Titley believes, forewarned is forearmed.

REAR ADMIRAL DAVID TITLY: The good thing is, science has advanced enough in oceanography, glaciology, meteorology, that we have some skill at some timeframes of predicting this. And if we choose to use those projections, we can in fact, by our behavior, alter the future in our favor.

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: Titley and the Pentagon think the facts are in.

REAR ADMIRAL DAVID TITLY: Climate change is happening, and there is very, very strong evidence that a large part of this is, in fact, man-made.

[Indistinct talking from military members]

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: The military is America's single largest user of energy, and it recognizes that its use of fossil fuels has to change.

[Indistinct talking from military members]

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: The military is America's single largest user of energy, and it recognizes that its use of fossil fuels has to change. The Pentagon uses 300,000 barrels of oil each day. That's more than 12 million gallons. An armored Humvee gets four miles to the gallon. At full speed, an Abrams battle tank uses four gallons to the mile. And it can cost as much as $400 a gallon to get gas to some remote bases in Afghanistan. Fort Irwin is a test-bed to see if the army can operate just as effectively while using less fossil fuel and more renewables. And it's not just Fort Irwin and the Army.

MARINE CORPS CADENCE: Mama, mama, can't you see...

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: At Camp Pendleton, Marines were trained on an energy saving Experimental Forward Operating Base that deployed with them to Afghanistan.

BRIGADIER GENERAL ROBERT HEDELUND, COMMANDER MARINE CORPS WARFIGHTING LAB: Before any equipment goes into theater, we want marines to get trained on it. So what are some of the things that we could take hold of right away and make sure that we can make a difference for the war-fighter down range?

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: They test out different kinds of portable solar power units. They also practice how to purify stagnant water and make it drinkable. The Army and Marines both want to minimize the number of convoys trucking in fuel and water. A report for the Army found that in five years, more than 3,000 service-members had been killed or wounded in supply convoys.

BRIGADIER GENERAL ROBERT HEDELUND: And if you've got Marines guarding that convoy, and if, God forbid, it get hit by an IED, then what are the wounded, and what are the deaths involved in that, and really, are we really utilizing those Marines and that capability, uh, the way we should.

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: Generators used to keep accommodations livable and computers running are also major gas-guzzlers.

CAPTAIN ADORJAN FERENCZY, ENGINEER OFFICER, MARINE CORPS WARFIGHTING LAB: Right now, what we are doing is putting up a power shade. It has flexible solar panels on the top, and gives us enough power to run small electronics such as lighting systems and laptop computers. It also provides shade over the tent structure. Experimenting with this equipment in Africa proved that it could reduce the internal temperature of the tent seven to ten degrees.

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: All the LED lights in the entire tent use just 91 watts, less than one single, old-fashioned incandescent bulb.

CAPTAIN ADORJAN FERENCZY: It's a no-brainer when it comes to efficiency.

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: Light emitting diodes don't weigh much, but they're still rugged enough to survive a typical Marine's gentle touch.

ZACH LYMAN, CIVILIAN CONTRACTOR: When we put something into a military application, and they beat it up, it's ruggedized. It's ready for the worst that the world can take. And so, one thing that people say is, if, you know, if the military has used this thing, and they trust it, then maybe it's okay for my backyard.

DR. RICHARD ALLEY: Renewable energy will also play an important role at sea and in the air. The Navy's Makin Island is an amphibious assault ship with jump jets, helicopters and landing craft. It's the first vessel to have both gas turbines and a hybrid electric drive, which it can use for 75 percent of its time at sea. This "Prius of the ocean" cut fuel costs by two million dollars on its maiden voyage. By 2016, the Navy plans to have what it calls a "Great Green Fleet", a complete carrier group running on renewable fuels, with nuclear ships, hybrid-electric surface vessels, and aircraft flying only biofuels. By 2020, the goal is to cut usage of fossil fuels by 50 percent. Once deployed to Afghanistan, the Ex-FOB cut down on gas used in generators by over 80 percent. In the past, the Pentagon's innovations in computers, GPS, and radar have spun-off into civilian life. In the future, the military's use of renewable energy can reduce dependence on foreign oil, increase operational security, and save lives and money.

COLONEL JIM CHEVALLIER, COMMANDER, US ARMY GARRISON FORT IRWIN: A lot of the times it is a culture change more than anything else. And the Department of Defense over the years has proved, time and time again, that it can lead the way in that culture change.