Last week, two conservative Republican Senators, James Inhofe of Oklahoma and John Barrasso of Wyoming, called for an independent probe of the IPCC -- the international scientific body that summarizes the latest climate science -- and asked the Senate to halt all climate action until that happens.
This past week, the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee held three days of hearings on global warming (Day 1,
Day 2, Day 3), with a wide range of panels. While much of the testimony was simply an advancement of lines of debate that have been heard for over a decade, there were some relatively new developments, particularly in two panels on Wednesday , one dealing with adaptive strategies and thinking, the other dealing with the national security implications of global warming. Arguably the most compelling and knowledgeable testimony and followup comments on the national security panel came from Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn (Ret) (written testimony here), who has twice served on the Military Advisory Boards for the reports on global warming from the Center for Naval Analysis.
In his testimony, Admiral McGinn stated:
We are just beginning to emerge from one of the most serious global financial crises of our lifetimes. This understandably focuses our attention on near term fiscal issues. However, after several years of examining climate change and the United States' energy use, it is clear to our Military Advisory Board that our economic, energy, climate change and national security challenges are inextricably linked. And it is also clear that our past pattern of energy use is responsible, in a significant way, for our economic situation today. For these reasons, we must take a long range, comprehensive view to develop effective national policies and make real and positive changes to the ways in which we power America. A business as usual approach, continued over reliance on fossil fuels, or small, incremental steps, simply will not create the kind of future security and prosperity that the American people and our great Nation deserve. The time to act, and act boldly, is now.
I interviewed Admiral McGinn on Friday, in order to get a better understanding of how the military has come to see global warming as a major national security concern, and what we all can learn from their perspective. The complete interview transcript is on the flip.
This past week, the 