ASP’s CEO, BGen Stephen Cheney, in the Charlotte Observer on How Climate Change is a Major Threat to National Security
On May 14th, ASP’s CEO BGen Stephen Cheney, USMC (Ret) published an op-ed for The Charlotte Observer titled Climate Change is a National Security Threat, Including in the Carolinas, outlining how climate change is a major threat to national security; that responding to disruption brought by climate change isn’t the full answer as we need to get ahead of it and act now.
BGen Cheney argues that “extreme weather events are wreaking havoc around the globe—driving people off their land and into new environments.” He then goes on to state that “climate change is already causing problems for the U.S. military.” Naval bases are being forced to move and adapt due to climate change raising the sea level, military operations are being disrupted, and the military is responding to natural disasters as they become more common.
Overall, the core of his argument is that the United States needs to be utilizing renewable energy and moving away from the dependence of fossil fuels. BGen Cheney concludes that “Republicans and Democrats agree that planning for climate change is crucial to our national security. We need that kind of bipartisan effort to embrace carbon reduction standards for all segments of our economy.”
