Most recent 40 articles: Yale Climate Connections - Security
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The surprising climate vulnerabilities of the world’s largest naval base - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Oct 25, 2023) |
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Oct 25, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Norfolk, Virginia, is vulnerable to flooding as seas rise and extreme storms batter the coast.
Flooding threatens local communities and the world’s largest naval base, which is located there.
So the military and local municipalities are working together to tackle the problem.
Hannah Teicher of the Harvard Graduate School of Design recently studied the topic.
“You might think that a military base can just kind of … take care of itself, but that’s really not the case,” she says. “The military will literally depend on the water and ... Read more ...
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Wildfires could release radioactive particles from nuclear sites - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Aug 12, 2022) |
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Aug 12, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Nuclear disasters can release widespread, dangerous radioactive fallout. Research facilities and nuclear weapons tests can also leave behind varying levels of radioactive particles in soil and plants.
Christine Eriksen of ETH Zürich warns that at some sites, wildfires could later release those particles into the air.
“Locally, in the area of the fire and where the smoke travels to, the particles will travel with that,” Eriksen says.
She says global warming and changing land use are increasing the threat of wildfires near many nuclear sites.
“We’re seeing more wildfires in areas that are either bordering onto or actually are ... Read more ...
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Violence increases in hot weather. 'Cease-fire’ days could help. - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Aug 08, 2022) |
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Aug 08, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
When temperatures rise, people’s tempers often do, too.
An analysis of crime rates in LA shows that violence increases on hot days - especially in poor neighborhoods, where people are less likely to have air conditioning.
So as the climate warms, the researchers urge cities to extend cooling center hours. And they suggest organizing cease-fire days during expected heat waves.
“Ceasefire” is an approach used in Baltimore. During quarterly Ceasefire weekends, community members call for a halt to violence and host a rally, block parties, and other events.
“There’s a commitment to peace and a commitment to celebrating life,” says ... Read more ...
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The deadly connections between climate change and migration - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Jul 20, 2022) |
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Jul 20, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Thousands of people have died attempting to enter the U.S. from Mexico. And the crossing is growing even more dangerous as the climate changes.
U.S. border security policy in the Southwest is designed to deter unauthorized migration at heavily guarded urban entry points. So undocumented migrants with little access to water often spend days on foot in remote areas of the sweltering Sonoran Desert, located in the Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur, and the U.S. states of Arizona and California.
More than 7,000 migrants died during attempted southern border crossings between 2000 and 2020, according to the U.S. ... Read more ...
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Timely readings on global climate migration - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Jun 17, 2022) |
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Jun 17, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Migration driven by climate change is often thought of as a national security issue. But it is also a human and humanitarian issue. It is a justice and ethics issue. It is an issue of finances, policy, adaptation, law, and politics. And it is often bedeviled by unrealistic numbers and alarmist projections. One thing is inevitable: Migration will increase around the globe as severe weather events intensify and agricultural climates continue to alter. But what will this climate migration look like?
To grasp the complex shape of these issues on a global scale, begin with the excellent and straightforward article by Umair Irfan in Vox, “Why we still ... Read more ...
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Climate change is driving migration to U.S. and making it more dangerous - Yale Climate Connections - Security (May 19, 2022) |
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May 19, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
In some areas of Latin America, the effects of climate change are worsening poverty, food insecurity, and civil unrest - and driving migration.
“You’ve got people who are fleeing places like western Mexico because of droughts,” says Jason De León of the University of California, Los Angeles. “They’re fleeing places like Honduras because of the intensity and frequency of these super hurricanes that are just devastating these places and making it unlivable.”
De León says some migrants head north, hoping to find safety and a better life in the U.S. Many of them are undocumented and attempt to cross the border illegally. It’s a dangerous ... Read more ...
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Climate action, as patriotism - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Apr 19, 2022) |
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Apr 19, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
The US military is about to find itself committed to yet another unwinnable mission costing trillions of dollars.
No, we are not referring to the possibility of American escalation in Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine: We are referring to the grim prospect of the American military’s having to attempt to provide national security in a rapidly warming world.
In the zeitgeist of this moment – Ukraine’s city and dwindling population of Mariupol cut off from proper access to food and water by Russian troops, 40-year high inflation rates, and COVID-19-related crisis fatigue – the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ... Read more ...
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The link between climate change and terrorism " Yale Climate Connections - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Nov 12, 2021) |
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Nov 12, 2021 · In many countries, droughts, floods, and other extreme weather can put people in desperate situations. And that can create the conditions in which terrorism can grow. Jeremiah Asaka is assistant professor of security studies at Sam Houston State University in Texas. He recently reviewed the scientific literature on the link between climate change and terrorism. Read more ...
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Extreme weather is costing the military billions of dollars - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Jul 02, 2021) |
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Jul 02, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
In 2018, Hurricane Florence dumped more than two feet of rain on Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in North Carolina. Hundreds of buildings flooded.
Within months, Hurricane Michael leveled buildings at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida. And flooding on the Missouri River inundated Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
The estimated cost of rebuilding from just these three events totaled about $10 billion.
“Increasingly, extreme weather is imposing a cost on DOD bases, not only in dollars, but in readiness. It is impacting missions and operations,” says John Conger, who directs the Center for Climate and Security and served in the ... Read more ...
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Revitalized U.S. urgency on climate change and national security - Yale Climate Connections - Security (May 06, 2021) |
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May 06, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
“An urgent national security threat.”
That’s the phrase U.S. Director of National intelligence Avril Haines used in describing climate change at the White House Climate Summit on Earth Day a few weeks ago.
It’s the kind of language that national security interests have applied previously, but not since the Trump administration took office on January 20, 2017, and soon put the kibosh on such talk. Conversations about climate change and national security continued under the Trump presidency, but not so much in the open, and certainly not with the imprimatur of the Oval Office.
“I think now, those voices will be elevated and be more ... Read more ...
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Some insightful background pieces on Bangladesh - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Apr 08, 2021) |
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Apr 08, 2021 · We all know that Bangladesh is on the frontlines of climate change, both for its physical effects and for the inequities and injustices resulting from its human and cultural impacts. As it happens, later in 2021 will also be the 50th anniversary of the nation itself, a half-century of independence from Pakistan and, before that, from India. Even in the U.S., where news coverage of this country is typically slim, chances are good for more stories in coming months. These pieces will bring you up to speed, both on the lived experience of climate disruption there and on some limited but heartening positives.
Begin with Tim McDonnell’s excellent 2019 National Geographic ... Read more ...
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Flooding in low-lying Norfolk, Virginia, now a chronic problem - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Nov 26, 2020) |
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Nov 26, 2020 · Norfolk, Virginia, is home to the largest naval base in the world. The city is also on the front lines of sea-level rise. During high tides, water covers many roads.
“The arteries that go in and out of the naval base … those roads are now becoming flooded on a more regular basis. It’s becoming a chronic problem,” says Norfolk City Council member Andria McClellan.
She says the frequent flooding does not just impede traffic to the naval base. It disrupts residents’ lives.
“The road that I travel to get to and from city hall is flooded several times a month now,” McClellan says. “I have to take a different route. ... Read more ...
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Global demand for U.S. military assistance increasing as weather grows more extreme - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Sep 24, 2020) |
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Sep 24, 2020 · When a natural disaster or humanitarian crisis strikes, the U.S. military often helps provide critical aid. And as weather becomes more extreme, the need for that assistance is growing.
“The demand for American military resources to help out in humanitarian disasters is increasing year by year,” says Lee Gunn, a retired Navy vice admiral and vice chair of the CNA Military Advisory Board, which assesses potential national security threats.
He says storms are not the only threat. Slow-moving disasters can also lead to major crises.
In southeast Asia, warming oceans are affecting fish habitats, making fishing more difficult. And rising seas are pushing ... Read more ...
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A transition to renewable energy will strengthen national security, Navy veteran says - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Sep 18, 2020) |
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Sep 18, 2020 · Yale Climate Connections
Dan Misch spent five years in the Navy. When he left for civilian life, a career in clean energy was not on his radar.
â??I did not know very much about clean energy or climate change when I got out of the Navy,â? he says.
But he got a job at the Department of Energy. And as he learned more, he became passionate about the benefits of solar and wind.
â??The clean-energy transition is going to strengthen our future national security by reducing our reliance on foreign fuels, diversifying our energy sources and our investments in those energy sources, and mitigating the worst impacts of climate change,â? he says.
Today Misch is a ... Read more ...
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The risk of gender-based violence grows after weather disasters - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Sep 10, 2020) |
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Sep 10, 2020 · Yale Climate Connections
When extreme weather strikes, the risk of violence within families and communities increases.
â??Women and other commonly marginalized or disenfranchised people are particularly vulnerable,â? says Cate Owren of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Her group studied how gender-based violence increases after natural disasters.
â??After two cyclones in Vanuatu, for example, reports of intimate partner violence rose 300%,â? she says. â??In emergency post-disaster situations, we know that shelters can be highly dangerous places for women, as well as for people who identify as non-binary or as part of the LGBTQI ... Read more ...
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Fort Knox prepares for more extreme weather - Yale Climate Connections - Security (May 07, 2020) |
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May 07, 2020 · An ice storm in 2009 caused the Fort Knox army installation in Kentucky to lose power for more than a week.
“The leadership at Fort Knox decided, ‘This will never happen again,'” says Alex Beehler, assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy, and environment.
He says losing power on military bases is not just inconvenient.
“It prevents the installation from performing critical missions related to deployment,” he says, “and if our troops are not able to deploy, they cannot fight, and therefore they cannot defend our country.”
So several sites have installed backup power systems to ensure they can remain ... Read more ...
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Admiral: Extreme weather harms national security - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Apr 04, 2020) |
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Apr 04, 2020 · As Hurricane Florence targeted the East Coast, the Navy moved its ships away from Hampton Roads, Virginia, to keep them safe.
Retired Navy Rear Admiral Ann Phillips says as an isolated incident, this did not affect national security. But as extreme weather becomes more common, the impacts are adding up.
Phillips: “You start to realize over time, gee, we lost more training days due to heat, or we lost more training days due to flooding, or in the context of Florence, all the ships here in Hampton Roads sortied to avoid the storm. So their schedules have been disrupted. And then that certainly adds much more of a challenge to readiness. So can the Navy recover? Of ... Read more ...
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How climate change influences immigration to the United States - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Apr 04, 2020) |
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Apr 04, 2020 · Poverty and violence in Central America are major factors driving migration to the United States. But there’s another force that’s often overlooked: climate change.
Retired Lt. Cmdr. Oliver Leighton Barrett is with the Center for Climate and Security. He says that in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, crime and poor economic conditions have long led to instability.
“And when you combine that with protracted drought,” he says, “it’s just a stressor that makes everything worse.”
Barrett says that with crops failing, many people have fled their homes.
“These folks are leaving not because they’re ... Read more ...
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Military bases prepare for more extreme weather - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Apr 04, 2020) |
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Apr 04, 2020 · As the climate warms, increasingly severe storms threaten homes and military bases. And with more extreme weather comes the risk of power outages.
“Local grids can go down,” says retired Maj. Gen. Rick Devereaux, the former director of operational planning, policy and strategy for the U.S. Air Force. “So the military is moving towards more green or sustainable energy sources on its bases – whether that be wind or solar, geothermal power, in some cases, biofuels.”
For example, at Fort Hood in Texas, solar panels and wind turbines provide about 40% of the base’s electricity. The on-site solar farm is designed to eventually function as a ... Read more ...
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The military is interested in deploying renewable energy in combat zones - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Apr 04, 2020) |
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Apr 04, 2020 · During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the military set up temporary bases that ran on diesel fuel. That fuel had to be transported through combat zones.
A study by the Army Environmental Policy Institute found that in 2007, about 170 U.S. soldiers were killed while protecting fuel convoys in those countries.
Devereaux: “In Afghanistan, the estimate was that one out of every 24 fuel convoys suffered a casualty. They’re a tremendous source of vulnerability.”
Retired Major General Rick Devereaux is the former director of Operational Planning Policy and Strategy for the Air Force at the Pentagon.
He says to reduce its dependence on fossil ... Read more ...
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Why climate change is a ‘threat multiplier’ - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Apr 04, 2020) |
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Apr 04, 2020 · As seas rise and weather becomes more extreme, crops are failing in some areas. Water is growing scarce. And people are sometimes forced to migrate to new places.
Security experts say these hardships can increase the risk of political instability and terrorism. That’s why the Department of Defense calls climate change a “threat multiplier.”
Sherri Goodman is with the Wilson Center and the Center for Climate and Security.
Goodman: “In Syria, the prolonged drought that preceded the uprising drove farmers and herders from their fields and their pastures towards the urban areas. And with this crowding in the urban areas came civil unrest.” Read more ...
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How climate change influences immigration to the United States - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Dec 04, 2019) |
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Dec 04, 2019 · Poverty and violence in Central America are major factors driving migration to the United States. But there's another force that's often overlooked: climate change.
Retired Lt. Cmdr. Oliver Leighton Barrett is with the Center for Climate and Security. He says that in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, crime and poor economic conditions have long led to instability.
"And when you combine that with protracted drought," he says, "it's just a stressor that makes everything worse."
Barrett says that with crops failing, many people have fled their homes.
"These folks are leaving not because they're opportunists," he says, "but because they are in survival mode. ... Read more ...
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Veteran urges other veterans to fight for the climate - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Nov 07, 2019) |
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Nov 07, 2019 · Wilson “Woody” Powell served in the Air Force during the Korean war. But in the decades since, he’s become staunchly anti-war.
Through the group Veterans for Peace, Powell has spoken out against conflicts, sought justice for civilian victims, and mentored veterans with PTSD.
Now he’s turned his attention to yet another cost of war: the climate.
“War plays a big role in climate change,” he says. “All the wars that are fought over fossil fuels, for instance. Wars that are fought on smaller levels over hardwood forests in South and Central America. The carbon footprint of the U.S. military itself, which is very, very large.” Read more ...
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A brief introduction to climate change and national security - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Apr 06, 2019) |
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Apr 06, 2019 · A series of punishing droughts set the stage for the Syrian civil war in 2011. A drying East Africa fuels ongoing conflicts over natural resources in Somalia and Kenya. Rising seas threaten future refugee crises in Southeast Asia. Melting sea ice in the Arctic is opening new shipping lanes, creating new potential for tensions among competing powers at the top of the world.
These are among the many worries – some already realized and some forecast in the near future – that concern experts studying the convergence of climate change and national security.
The idea that a warming planet threatens stability around the globe is not a new one. The U.S. Naval War ... Read more ...
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The long history of climate change security risks - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Apr 05, 2019) |
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Apr 05, 2019 · A series of authoritative governmental and nongovernmental analyses over more than three decades lays a strong foundation for concern over climate change implications for national security.
Most recently, the national intelligence community – including the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other federal agencies – in January 2019 submitted the annual “Worldwide Threat Assessment.” In it, the intelligence agencies stated that “climate change is an urgent and growing threat to our national security, contributing to increased natural disasters, refugee flows, and conflicts over basic resources ... Read more ...
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Iraq vet aims to reduce oil dependency - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Jan 02, 2019) |
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Jan 02, 2019 · As an active-duty soldier in Iraq in the early 2000s, Chris Boggiano grew concerned about U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
Boggiano: “Like many Americans, I realized that a large part of the reason why we were involved in Iraq at all was because of our energy dependence on a number of countries in the Middle East.”
When he left the Army, Boggiano was determined to help the country save energy and transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy.
So he and his brother started a company called Everblue that trains people across the U.S. for green building careers. The company provides courses on energy audits, designing and installing solar panels, ... Read more ...
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Can climate change feed extremism? - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Dec 27, 2018) |
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Dec 27, 2018 · Global warming is not just an environmental problem.
Goodman: “It is one of the most serious national security challenges we face. This is a risk issue.”
Sherri Goodman is a senior fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center and a former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security. She says that in many countries, climate change is already affecting people’s lives.
Goodman: “With rising seas, increasing temperatures, more extreme weather events, more weather variability in general from droughts to floods, it’s creating conditions that make it harder for people to provide food, have clean water, and shelter, and be ... Read more ...
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Naval Academy readies for rising seas - Yale Climate Connections - Security (Oct 09, 2018) |
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Oct 09, 2018 · In Annapolis, Maryland, where the Severn River enters Chesapeake Bay, the historic U.S. Naval Academy sits nearly surrounded by water. And that water is rising.
John Conger, a former official in the Department of Defense, directs the Center for Climate and Security, a nonpartisan think tank.
Conger: “Annapolis encounters flooding on a regular basis. This impacts the base today and will impact it more in the future.”
As seas rise, high tides are expected to regularly flood sections of the Academy, and as much as half of the campus could be flooded when hurricanes strike.
Conger says the Naval Academy is getting ready. It’s purchasing flood ... Read more ...
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