US Military Targets 50 Percent Renewable Energy By 2020

Oil tankers that were set on fire in Pakistan. The convoys that haul fuel to bases have been sitting ducks for enemy fighters. via Aaron Favila/APGreenTracker| The US Congress may show no interest in confronting America’s dependence on fossil fuels, but the US Military insists that its operations decrease the need to transport fossil fuels.

Politicians deny what is patently obvious as insurgents attack the American fuel supply convoys ‘lumbering’ across the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan. All those prime time soundbites about no need for alternative energy fail to deliver the fuel, when reality replaces the TV set in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

“There are a lot of profound reasons for doing this, but for us at the core it’s practical,” said Ray Mabus, the Navy secretary and a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who has said he wants 50 percent of the power for the Navy and Marines to come from renewable energy sources by 2020. That figure includes energy for bases as well as fuel for cars and ships. via NYTimes

GreenThink may be unpatriotic according to most Republicans and members of the Tea Party, but we’ll take our chances supporting the wisdom of the US military, who is notoriously ahead of the technology curve, compared to members of Congress.

In this case, even Secretary of Defense Gates knows we’re a bunch of sitting ducks waiting for the other shoe to drop on America’s future.  Read on at NYTimes.