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We have met the enemy, and yup, it is us. No doubt about it. The planet is on fire and we're obviously to blame. Why else would the Department of Defense have to release a February 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) declaring that climate change will play a "significant role in shaping the future security environment"- and cause a  "…need to adjust to the impacts of climate change on our facilities and military capabilities"? The QDR warns that this climate change threat "… may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden to respond on civilian institutions and militaries around the world".

Gosh, does that mean they may have to attack everyone? Maybe not. Since government bureaucrats aren't mentioned, they're probably exempt.

And it's not like we haven't been warned about this security threat before. Some of you may possibly remember an April 2008 Time magazine cover feature that drew a direct parallel between the current battle against climate change and U.S. involvement in World War II against Nazi Germany and Japan. Here, the famous image of five American Marines raising a flag at Iwo Jima following a terrible 35-day conflict that killed sixty-eight hundred of our troops was modified to depict the Marines planting a tree. The caption read "How to Win the War on Global Warming." Some of us then took serious offense at that correlation. Some of us still do.

A television commercial produced by the Alliance for Climate Protection (ACP) founded by Al Gore in 2006 showed footage of American soldiers storming beaches at Normandy during WWII, a civil rights march, and a moon landing, linking these historic events to an urgent need for action now. William H. Macy narrated the message, stating "We can't wait for someone else to solve the climate crisis. We need to act, and we need to act now. Join us. Together we can solve the climate crisis." 


And exactly what U.S. national security threats are they worried about anyway? One that security planners highlighted in 2009 revolves around concern that global warming will melt the massive Himalayan ice mass. In theory, that will cause rivers fed by Himalayan glaciers to flood first, then will dry up once the glaciers retreat, endangering tens of millions of people in lowland Bangladesh. Retired Air Marshal A.K. Singh, a former commander in India's air force, then foresaw resulting mass migrations across national borders, with militaries (including ours) becoming involved.

This dire Himalayan glacier calamity was predicted by a preeminent international climate science organization, none other than the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Who could doubt their competence and veracity? Well, actually, many scientists have good reasons to do so. And in this instance it turned out, and the IPCC later admitted, that the Himalayan prediction was completely fabricated with absolutely no supporting science by a fellow who worked for the IPCC's director. Seems like top Pentagon officials can sleep better knowing this, provided of course, that someone informed them.

According to Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy , "The QDR may be the most important report DoD provides Congress. It really requires the department to step back and think strategically about the present and the future to set its priorities and objectives and then to connect those to the program and to the budget" (Read this to mean that it ain't going to be cheap!)

The QDR climate change response strategy includes provisions to "…investigate alternative concepts for improving operational energy use"…and increase use of renewable energy supplies and reduce energy demand to "improve operational effectiveness, reduce greenhouse gas emissions in support of U.S. climate change initiatives, and protect the Department from energy price fluctuations." So let's look at an existing example that applies these directives.

The U.S. Air Force is supporting development of the largest North American solar plant to provide electricity for the Nellis Air Force Base located outside Las Vegas which covers 140 acres of the Nevada desert with massive photovoltaic arrays that track the sun. The facility is capable of producing 15 MW of power, enough to cover about 30% of Nellis requirements. As advertised, the Air Force expects to save $1 million per year in power costs. In fact the Air Force is so pleased with the project that it hopes to double the power it gets from solar in the near future. Sounds pretty good so far doesn't it?

The down side is that these current and future cost savings are only possible thanks to multimillion-dollar federal and state financial subsidies and incentives. "Without those, prices wouldn't be competitive," according to Daniel Tomlinson, editor of a solar newsletter for Navigant Consulting.

The Nellis project was developed through a complex arrangement between the Air Force and financial partners where power providers covered system construction costs in return for a guaranteed market along with substantial federal tax subsidies and other incentives. For example, MMA Renewable Ventures and its investors enjoy a 30% tax credit, have the benefit of accelerated capital depreciation schedules, and sell solar energy credits generated by the project to NV Energy, which must obtain 20% of its power from renewable sources by 2015.

So there you have it. Our country's Air Force (that is, the U.S. Government) is saving about $1 million a year because the same U.S. Government is providing many tens of millions of dollars in tax incentives, in combination with generous contributions in the form of higher electricity prices charged to Nevada customers. Just think of all the money the government is saving us!

But caution: don't attempt this stunt at home.