In a Nov. 2009 article the Apollo Alliance published about veterans green jobs training programs, we interviewed an Iraq war veteran, Alex Cornell du Houx, who is part of an effort by national security and veterans organizations to draw attention to the national security threat that’s created by climate change.
In that article, Cornell du Houx said, “When I was deployed in Fallujah with the marines, we came across a line of cars, trucks and tractors that were bumper-to-bumper as far as the eye could see. They were waiting there all night and risking their lives for gasoline and diesel. It really struck me how vulnerable and dependent they were on this single source of energy. Likewise, it made me think about how dependent we are and how it puts our security at risk.”
The group that Cornell du Houx is part of, Operation Free, ramped up its activities this month in an effort to get the U.S. to adopt comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. They launched a 16-state “National Veterans Tour for Clean Energy Security” and a national television advertisement.
Veterans have a powerful perspective when it comes to climate change and clean energy. Their message about climate change imperiling national security has the potential to appeal to a group of people for whom environmental issues are not a major concern but security issues are.
“The reason why national security organizations are taking this as a serious threat, is that not only are we [the United States] dependent on oil, but the conflicts that arise from famines, floods and droughts [caused by climate change] multiply the threat of current conflicts and create instability,” Cornell du Houx told the Apollo Alliance back in November.
