Senator John Warner and the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate Highlight Climate-S
Jim Kottmeyer, Pew Environment Group, Missouri - 314-898-2051 or jim@midwestadvocacy.com
Brandon MacGillis, Pew Environment Group - 202-887-8830 or
bmacgillis@pewtrusts.org
“I spent thirty years in the U.S. Senate working on behalf of our
men and women in uniform serving our country and on the issues
related to the impact of climate changes on their future military
roles and missions," said Senator John Warner. "Leading military
and security experts agree that if left unchecked, global warming
could increase instability and lead to conflict in already
fragile regions of the world. We ignore these facts at the peril
of our national security and at great risk to those in uniform
who serve this nation.”
Senator Warner served in the U.S. Navy during the final years of
World War II, in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War and
was the Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974. During his five
terms in the U.S. Senate he was a Member of the Senate Armed
Services Committee and was the longest serving Republican on the
Environment and Public Works Committee. In 2006 he joined with
Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), to co-sponsor the Climate
Security Act, the only climate change bill passed by a Senate
committee.
"Few individuals have the depth of knowledge and experience on
the energy, national security and environmental challenges facing
our country and the world as Senator Warner,” said Phyllis
Cuttino, director, U.S. Global Warming Campaign for the Pew
Environment Group. “Forums like this will help engage our nation
in an informed conversation on a clean energy future that makes
America more secure.”
Numerous expert reports have documented the security challenges
that unchecked global climate change could cause. The Central
Intelligence Agency's long-term forecasting arm, the National
Intelligence Council (NIC), recently reported that global warming
could directly impact the U.S. by threatening energy supplies,
damaging military bases, increasing food and water shortages and
stressing the economy.
“Climate change is a threat multiplier,” said Vice Admiral Dennis
V. McGinn, U.S. Navy (Ret.). “Energy security, climate change and
national security are a related set of global challenges. We
cannot solve one without addressing all three.”
“The climate changes being experienced globally are affecting a
wide range of human activities – from rural agriculture to
coastal cities. The challenges of adapting to the current
conditions and future changes are of growing importance in the
developed and developing regions of the world. How we as a
society use science and effective policy to address these
challenges will have profound effects on the health and well
being of many,” said Dr. Roger N. Beachy, president, Donald
Danforth Plant Science Center.
The Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate
brings together science and military policy experts to examine
new strategies for combating climate change, protecting our
national security, increasing our energy independence and
preserving our nation's natural resources. Please visit www.pewclimatesecurity.org for additional
information.
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a
not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the
human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth
Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve
and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and
Missouri as a world center for plant science. Please visit
www.danforthcenter.org
for additional information.