US Military: Green Technology = National Security

The United States military is inextricably linked with oil in a number of ways, many of those the $20 billion the Pentagon spends on oil for the military every year. The actual cost of that oil, though, isn’t just the price for the precious liquid itself – it also must include the logistical problems of getting all that oil where it needs to go, and guarding it while it gets there.

At some point, one would think that the Department of Defense would just look at that huge money sink and ask whether or not some kind of domestic power solution wasn’t available. Apparently this is that point; the DoD has announced that it will power domestic military bases on wind, solar, and geothermal power by 2025.

The Military – Cutting Edge of Green Technology?

The number of areas in which the American military has been pushing green tech in recent years is kind of impressive; everything from hybrid ground combat vehicles to the electric CERVs at the Chicago Auto Show has shown the military’s dedication to doing more with less fuel (and lower cost).

Army and Air Force bases will get renewable energy plants (super super cheap electricity once they get going, with none of the logistical problems of trucking all that fuel from all over the world), as well as a lab near Detroit to work on making combat vehicles do more on less.

It’s Not Just About The Environment

While the Obama administration has been subjected to ridicule from conservatives for trying to push greener and cleaner energy, the Pentagon has gone out of its way to point out that they’re not furthering an “environmental agenda” (which is a little problematic, but I’m going to let that one slide for the moment). Instead, the Pentagon is making it very clear that they’re making the troops more secure by removing the vulnerability of dependence on foreign oil.

After all, what’s the worst that can happen? Say the whole environmental issue and finiteness of fossil fuels are a big hoax (oh, it so is not) – in that case, we’ve still got more efficient vehicles and self-sufficient domestic facilities, and I don’t see how anyone except a blithering idiot can argue with “Made In America” being a good thing. Even for electricity.

Source | Image: Inhabitat.

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