Red, White and Green: A "Green" Military Saves Lives: Green Technology Articles: Eco20/20

Red, White and Green: A "Green" Military Saves Lives

By Jillian Fellows

The United States Military is going green. In recent years, the armed forces have embraced many forms of green technology from alternative fuel solutions to solar power; and it's clear that the military is planning big things for the future.

Unsurprisingly, the Department of Defense is the single largest energy consumer in the U.S., spending over $13 billion on fuel each year. Most of that cost can be attributed to oil. When oil prices spiked in 2008, the Defense Department's energy expenditure shot up from $13 billion in 2006 to $20 billion in 2008. Indeed, the military finds itself increasingly dependent on oil for fuel. Wars are not cheap and American forces in the Middle East are now using more fuel per day than any other U.S. war. In light of the increasing costs and demands for fuel, the United States military is looking for alternative solutions.

If the $7 billion jump between 2006 and 2008 was not enough of an incentive for change, the high cost of human life certainly was. Fuel convoys are very susceptible to roadside bombs, which accounted for half of American deaths in Afghanistan in 2009.

In May the National Journal reported that, "Fuel shipments account for the majority of supplies trucked through Afghanistan and militants attack convoys almost daily. At least one member of the armed forces is killed for every 24 fuel convoys that snake their way along Afghanistan's dangerous roads; hundreds of troops and contractors have died protecting the trucks."

For the military finding an alternative fuel would not only save costs, but lives as well and the Air Force is hard at work trying to find the solution. The Air Force is the largest consumer of petroleum in the Defense Department, consuming 2.4 billion gallons a year, but is striving to introduce alternative fuels to lessen that dependence. Test flights have already been run with Hydrotreated Renewable jet fuel, a biofuel made from the nonedible camelina plant. To show they're serious about reducing oil consumption, the Air Force have announced that they would like to have half of their fleet running on alternative fuels by the year 2016.

"We're making sure the Air Force is ahead of the curve so we can utilize this domestic resource instead of having to be both dependent on foreign sources and send dollars offshore instead of spending the dollars here in the US," says Kevin Billings, a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force, told the Christian Science Monitor.

The other branches of the military are making strides of their own as well. The Navy has set a lofty goal for themselves to use 50% alternative fuels in all of their vehicles within 10 years. By 2016 the Navy will launch their "Great Green Fleet," a squadron of ships run on nuclear power or electric-biofuel engines that will use the camelina plant or algae as its fuel source.

"We're a good place to test out technologies for renewable energy, to prove them for practical use, not only be useful for DoD's use, but [also] for the commercial market," Joe Sikes, director of facilities energy for the Navy, told the North County Times.

The Army has cut water and energy usage at its permanent bases by 31% and 10.4% respectively since 2004. Thanks to the National Defense Authorization Act, the Army is also required to produce 25% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2025.

"The Army's mission is not to be green. Our mission is to defend the nation," Kevin Geiss, the Army's program director for energy security, told USA Today. "In that context, we've found it's in our interest to develop sustainable projects."

Widespread change has already begun at home. Some of the military's permanent bases are leading the way in green technology and sustainable living. The Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California is completely powered by geothermal energy from underground hot springs. In Texas, Fort Bliss is another base that expertly combines military values with environmental policies. The post wants to utilize solar energy to power the base off grid in four years and is looking to lease 30 or so nearby acres for a "sun farm."

"For the solar specifically, we're looking at taking advantage of us being known as the Sun City, and being able to produce our own energy at some point," Col. Joseph Simonelli Jr., garrison commander at Fort Bliss, told the San Antonio Express.

Since national defense is such a huge portion of the United States' expenditure and considering the current debt crisis, it's the financially responsible thing to do for the military to go green. Lessening dependence on foreign oil increases the safety of American troops in war zones and saves taxpayer dollars while reducing carbon emissions. So going green not only reduces spending and promotes safety, but it also encourages technological innovation and sustainable green living. It's a win-win for everyone.