You hear a lot of talk about "energy independence" from those who seek to enhance U.S. security by reducing our need to "get our oil from underneath their land." But how secure will we be if by energy independence we mean a continued dependence on fossil fuels?
Friends of the Earth and Voters for Peace have joined together to form the Climate Security Project. The purpose of this effort is to bring the environmental and peace movements together to advocate for policies that protect U.S. national security by rapidly addressing climate change.
Global Warming will exacerbate international conflict immeasurably, and if you are serious about energy security then help us push for climate security.
Global climate change will lead to global conflict. To be blunt: warming means war. Even the Department of Defense warns that climate change will be the source of future military conflict. It will weaken failed states, cause famine and poverty, population shifts, water shortages, flooding and other unpredictable consequences. Climate change not only threatens military conflict it also threatens economic and environmental security.
Our effort to bring these two important movements together begins with a challenge to the notion of "energy independence."
Click here to tell the presidential candidates and your congressional representatives that energy independence must mean independence from fuel that contributes to global warming. Click here to tell the media.
Energy independence has become an applause line for both political campaigns and the green washing energy corporations. Both political parties advocate expenditures on counterproductive approaches, such as more oil drilling, so-called 'clean coal,' dirty oil shale and oil tar. We must break out addiction to dirty energy sources and that requires changing the debate.
To advance energy and national security the United States needs to take the following steps:
Encourage efficiency and more importantly technology that rapidly improves efficiency. This is the least expensive and most rapid way to respond to climate change.
Develop a solar and wind energy-based economy and set a goal of carbon-free/nuclear free by 2030.
Restore America's global leadership on climate change by committing to reduce emissions and offering financial support to less responsible and less fortunate countries to deal with climate impacts and reduce their own emissions.
Cooperate with the international community to tackle a global issue that interlinks all peoples.
Join with Friends of the Earth and Voters for Peace for a safer, cleaner and healthier world. Only together can we break the stranglehold of the status quo.
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