Here we go again: U.S. officials warn of climate risk to ‘national security’ as Trump (correctly) dismisses it – Studies refute claims
AP: Senior U.S. officials warned Wednesday that climate change is an increasing threat to national security, a message at odds with a broader Trump administration effort to downplay the threat from global warming. Military and intelligence officials outlined a range of long-term threats arising from climate change, including food and water shortages that can produce political turmoil and land disputes, as well as melting ice in the Arctic that Russia and other adversaries could exploit for commercial gain.
Bonus Chapter #2 from The Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change: Excerpt: The climate activists have it backward. A 2011 study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies titled “The Climate Wars Myth” found, “Since the dawn of civilization, warmer eras have meant fewer wars.” As author Bruno Tetrais explained, “History shows that ‘warm’ periods are more peaceful than ‘cold’ ones... John Horgan, the director of the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology, explained, “In spite of the recent surge in violence in the Middle East, war-related casualties have fallen over the last half-century, as temperatures have risen... A 2013 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that cold eras were dark times in Eastern Europe. “Some of Eastern Europe’s greatest wars and plagues over the last millennium coincided with cold periods,” explained a summary of the study in Science News.
by Eric Tucker, Associated Press,
WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. officials warned Wednesday that climate change is an increasing threat to national security, a message at odds with a broader Trump administration effort to downplay the threat from global warming.
Military and intelligence officials outlined a range of long-term threats arising from climate change, including food and water shortages that can produce political turmoil and land disputes, as well as melting ice in the Arctic that Russia and other adversaries could exploit for commercial gain.
“Climate change effects could undermine important international systems on which the U.S. is critically dependent, such as trade routes, food and energy supplies, the global economy, and domestic stability abroad,” Rod Schoonover, a senior State Department analyst focusing on global issues, told members of the House Intelligence Committee. “Most countries, if not all, are already unable to fully respond to the risks posed by climate-linked hazards under present conditions.
The assessments laid bare the disconnect between senior officials who regard climate change as a long-term, global threat and the views of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly broken from that message and even belittled his own government’s views.
“I believe that there’s a change in weather, and I think it changes both ways,” Trump said in an interview on “Good Morning Britain” that aired on Wednesday. “Don’t forget it used to be called global warming. That wasn’t working. Then it was called climate change. Now it’s actually called extreme weather, because with extreme weather, you can’t miss.”
Peter Kiemel, counselor to the National Intelligence Council at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, singled out the gradual thawing of the Arctic as a concern. He said the melting of sea ice can create increased opportunities for mining, fishing and shipping for Russia by making the path between Asia and North America more navigable.
“As a result, the Arctic is emerging as a new domain of strategic competition,” Kiemel said. “Russia, China and others are dramatically increasing their activities and investments in the region.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a similar point last month in a speech in Finland, but cast the warming sea as an economic opportunity for the West. “Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new naval passageways and new opportunities for trade, potentially slashing the time it takes for ships to travel between Asia and the West by 20 days,” Pompeo said.
