The Greening Of The United States Military

It's pretty safe to say that the military doesn't spring to mind when you're making a list of organizations looking to go green. But, just as it does for any business, it makes sense -- and it's important -- for them to do so.

According to green tech blog Clean Technica, the Department of Defense is responsible for over 1.5% of all U.S. energy consumption, and it's now looking at greening the military.

The U.S. military has been trying to green up its operations in response to skyrocketing energy bills, toying with everything from biofuel for Air Force planes to solar panels at air bases. On the ground, the lean green fighting machine is now trying to live up to all its name implies--and save lives in the process.

Joshua hill goes on to describe the United States military's efforts to expand its use of eco-conscious technology:

One such technology that the military is working on is a portable solar and wind power station, being developed at the Army's Fort Irwin in California. Within six years, such a device could bring electricity back to locations that have, for example, been damaged by a hurricane. [...] The search for renewable sources is not a new trend for the military either. The largest solar power array in the US belongs at Nellis Air Force Base outside Las Vegas, Nevada. Guantanamo Bay is powered by wind turbines, and a geothermal power plant has provided China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station in California with its energy for two decades.

The Defense Department is trying a few things. From spraying tents with foam insulation -- gotta wonder what that stuff is made of, though -- to curb heating and air conditioning, which cut down energy use by 45% to researching hybrid military vehicle innovations, the United States military is fighting to be the leaders in green technology.

"If we can reduce consumption on our forward operating bases by using renewable energy, let's say wind or solar instead of a diesel generator outside the tent ... then we can reduce the number of these supply convoys that need to come forward that are getting hit by these IEDs," said Tad Davis, deputy assistant secretary for environment, safety and occupational health.

Related:

::More on green technology from the Huffington Post
::Read more news about the United States military from the Huffington Post

Comments

[jay1975]

The military has been environmentally concience for years now. My unit had a motor pool that had a gravel parking lot rather than concrete and every time there was a fuel leak we had to dig a hole that went one foot beyond the smell of the diesel down and across. We place drip pans underneath all parked vehicles to include during training. Thermostats are set at uncomfortable levels in the barracks. Solar panels are being installed every day across all posts. Endangered species as well as threatened species are protected and training areas are placed off limits. You have to request permission to dig fighting positions on post in the training areas. Ethanol and natural gas vehicles are used more and more on post. Recycling points are placed on each post. The last thing we do before training ends is a police call of the training area for trash. The military does far more than the average person to keep their areas clean. Our job is to engage the enemy and kill, yes, but we also work to keep our areas clean and as unharmed as possible.

[sheila]

anyone else look at now they killed everything, scraped the earth, sprayed it with herbicides, and erected massive transmission/roads in the photo (on the Green page, which for some reason, they do not show on this page), and kind of wonder how far we can stretch the concept of "greening" the military? this land is permanently killed, and all the critters that depended on it are dead or struggling now. not really "green" by any standard i use...

that said, i know that many of the bases are using ROOFTOP solar and micro-wind now, which i can kind of applaud. every little bit, eh?

[research]

They have to: switch to tungsten bullets from uranium, steel from lead Even duck hunters were forced to stop using lead.

Stop using the rockets that spray perchlorate

Stop waging unnecessary massively wasteful wars.

[MGhamma]

Maybe if someone invents solar powered bullets.

[ilovemydoggy]

Maybe more attention to PACIFISM and ;not militarism. We can thank the MSM for beating war drums every time. Remember the burning oil wells in Iraq? Any FOOL can throw a bomb, but to live in peace...ah that's creative. William Penn: "I never felt more SAFE than when I walked UNARMED through the Indian villages" (during the French Indian War).

Baby Boomer Views: http://www.Vaboomer.com

[Darkdonnie]

`Speak softly (pacifism) and carry a big stick (strength); you will go far.''

[bbrecht]

The defense department is the country's largest polluter with over 15,000 hazardous waste clean up sites. It is also where the majority of our tax dollars go.

War is toxic-- we must demand that the DOD clean up its act on every level. Good they are looking at energy.

[mamacat]

I imagine there are many in the Pentagon looking for ways to cut down on the amount of petroleum they consume, thus improving reliability and cutting costs as well. I have read news reports of the military funding research looking into ways to assure that they do not run out of electricity while in the field, using renewable alternative sources. If solar and wind can be used to recharge batteries, then I think the military will be very interested in adapting it. Likewise, there have been reports of remotely piloted aircraft that are solar powered, that can stay up for days. It just makes sense to use whatever technology works best.

However, we need to remember that when the bullets start flying, no one gives a damn how many mpg anything gets, only that the fuel doesn't run out. BTW, one of the concerns about the U.S.'s Abrams tank was that it uses huge amounts of fuel. Luckily, we only had to use it in the deserts of the Middle East, where there was plenty of fuel available. Likewise, in the first Gulf War, the allies' planes were able to use their afterburners whenever they wanted, because the Saudis supplied all the fuel they wanted.

[leduck]

in germany in WWII they did run out of fuel.
they were reduced to making it from coal.
then they lost.
guess who won and why....


hint..., the big winner had the greatest access to fossil fuel.
particularly OIL

[KillTheMessenger]

"in germany in WWII they did run out of fuel.
they were reduced to making it from coal.
then they lost."

You are correct, but that does not mean there was nearly as much of causality there as the allies had hoped for during the war. There was no collapse of the German forces during the war. They kept fighting in very well organized ways all the way back to Berlin and basically had to be dug out of every hole they crawled in, one at a time, at the cost of lots of casualties. And if they had to move their large guns and ammunition with a dying horse, they did.

There is no doubt that the US won because of its economic superiority. But that was then and it was an isolated incident. Economic superiority does not buy victory under all circumstances. Americans should have learned that lesson from their own war for independence against the British!

[BlackWidowPilot]

The cardinal sin of the historian is to judge the past through modern eyes. WW2 and the emergence of Fourth Generation Warfare we're facing today are tow dramatically different paradigms. Best get your mind into the 21st Century where the real problems are...

Hint: the big winner in the war on terror will be the country that is energy self-sufficient and not dependent upon foreign sources.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[totalliberal]

Conservatives would rather destroy the planet in order to save their craven cowardly asses than move one finger to help it. Bunch of friggin losers.

[booksnmore4you]

Greening? I see red. Blood.

[Darkdonnie]

The military's job is to break things and ki ll people. Great job! Congress and President tell them what the objective is. No terrorist attacks since 9/11 Great job!

[mamacat]

How many terrorist attacks since 9/10? Seems to me we forget how badly Dubya blew that one.

[Jess27]

I think it is great for the permanent bases to use renewable energy, but it is a little more difficult to use renewable energy out in the field. You can't be guaranteed to have enough wind or sun at any particular given time for the power needed for that operation, but if you have a generator, you know what power you are going to get.
I think once the military can have energy independence, there is no reason why anyone should be using fossil fuels. I don't think the technology is at the level it needs to be for some military operations to use renewable energy, but the bases should definitely be converting energy from the sun and wind.

[johnnyjust]

Ah, another code word.

You say "Greened" but you really mean "Neutered.­"

Can the U.S. military be neutered? Depends who's in charge.

[KillTheMessenger]

The US military has been neutered completely by the Bush administration which sent it on an impossible mission that showed to all of the world how one can economically defeat America by throwing bombs at its military.

The kill-cost of the current military is killing us. The insurgents OTOH regenerate from an almost endless stream of people who don't mind dying for ideas.

:-0

[BlackWidowPilot]

The insurgents win by not losing, just as the VC/NVA did the same in their day.

One does not fight fire with high octane jet fuel.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[LiberalBuzz]

Idiotic comment Johnny which shows you didn't read the article.

THE MILITARY itself is looking for ways to become more energy independent. They get hit with costs as well. You didn't see anything about neutering but rather just the headline and decided that was all you had to read.

Do try to read articles before commenting­...eh?

[vipersdad]

One of the reasons the German Army lost the Battle of the Bulge was that their vehicles ran out of fuel.

If the US Army can figure out how to operate on alternative fuels and reduce the amount of fuel they use for maintaining forward operations, they will be more effective. Anything you can do to reduce dependence on supply lines is a good thing.

[KillTheMessenger]

It did not matter how much fuel the Germans had access to in the end. The US air force had complete air superiority. One can only fight with a conventional army for so long once the other forces have the air.

[SecretSquirrel666]

There was no 'US Air Force' when we fought the Germans (I'm assuming you mean World War II and not some video game you were playing last night in your mom's basement). 'Conventional' means as opposed to 'nuclear', so I'm not sure what you mean by that sentence. Just a quick surf through your comment history shows you really have no idea what you are talking about on any topic.

Have a nice day.

[Darkdonnie]

Nuke powered tanks what a great idea! I will vote for it!

[BlackWidowPilot]

Bad idea tried out on the theoretical level in the 1950s. Better idea solar or renewably fueled support vehciles to replace the "Purple Heart Boxes," er, *Humvees* we're currently using. The savings in fuel costs alone could double all pay grades for enlisted personnel I suspect...

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[leduck]

oh... wow..., my point was already made

[JScott]

And why are they still insisting on damming the last free flowing Santa Margarita River in Southern California in Camp Pendleton?

[KillTheMessenger]

Because they can?

[Gary47]

Oh what a sweet idea. Let's go easy on the planet while we go around killing people.

[Jess27]

I think it is great for the permanent bases to use renewable energy, but it is a little more difficult to use renewable energy out in the field. You can't be guaranteed to have enough wind or sun at any particular given time for the power needed for that operation, but if you have a generator, you know what power you are going to get.
I think once the military can have energy independence, there is no reason why anyone should be using fossil fuels. I don't think the technology is at the level it needs to be for some military operations to use renewable energy, but the bases should definitely be converting energy from the sun and wind.

[Jess27]

I didn't mean to reply to you because you clearly have issues other than what was discussed in this article. My comment was meant to be a comment to the article written, so I re-posted it accordingly.

[Gary47]

Post all you want, but killing people is killing people. Green-washing it doesn't fool anyone - well, maybe a few...