ASP BGen Steve Cheney on President Obama’s Inaugural Address
Photo credit: Whitehouse.gov
Yesterday, President Obama stated in his inaugural address that his administration will take strong action to deal with climate change, noting that “the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”
He also said, “The path to sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise.”
The American Security Project commends these words and we believe it is a step in the right direction. ASP emphatically believes that climate change and energy security are national security threats to the United States.
Climate change presents threats not only to unstable governments in vulnerable countries, but also to the U.S. homeland. Floods, drought and severe storms will affect the American economy and its people.
Solving these problems will require a dedicated and sustained effort to develop next-generation energy technologies.
While innovations in oil and gas drilling have opened up new energy resources across the country, we must continue to move towards clean energy technologies.
Moreover, in the age of austerity, it may seem tempting to cut funding for technologies that seem far off into the future. However, science and innovation are essential to America’s vibrancy. To truly solve our long-term energy problems, we cannot put off investments in innovation and science.
This means investing in the renewable technologies of today such as wind, solar and biofuels. But, it also means sustained support for the cutting-edge technologies of tomorrow such as fusion energy, which holds great promise as a source of clean, safe and abundant energy for generations.
ASP will continue to make the case that America’s national security is dependent on our willingness to address long-term threats with bipartisan consensus.
The President’s remarks hold promise that this administration will make the critical choices needed to confront energy security and climate change. The next step is to turn this vision into a reality.
ASP has laid out clear energy choices that the President will face in his second term. To read the report, click here.
