Champions of National Security, Champions of Change
Today the White House reminded us that those who
serve our country in the military are sometimes also on the front lines of our
clean energy economy. This morning, in a standing room only auditorium in
Washington, D.C.'s Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the White House
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) recognized these heroes with the
accolade "Champions of Change." Twelve veterans came from across the
country to DC -- one even called in from Afghanistan -- to join the event,
"Veterans Advancing Clean Energy & Climate Security," where White
House and other administration officials thanked them for their service -- in
the military and in the advancement of clean energy and climate solutions.
CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley opened the ceremony by
thanking the champions. She and Denis McDonough, White House Chief of Staff,
who delivered the opening remarks, both called to mind the president's
commitments to act on climate -- through his Georgetown University speech from
this summer and last week's executive order to create a climate task force.
Delivering the ceremony's keynote address, U.S.
Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz spoke of an important link between
climate disruption and national security, and what the Obama administration is
doing to connect those dots. In his first term as president, Barack Obama
introduced fuel-efficiency standards that have helped reduce the United States'
dependence on oil and, in particular, foreign oil. This, along with the
advancement of biofuels and the electrification of vehicles, has helped lessen
our dependence on oil and thus strengthened our national security, he said.
Renewable energies like wind and solar are also putting us in a much better
place, he noted, and it's happening now -- not five or ten years down the road.
"Look up, the revolution is coming
now," he said.
The Energy Department is also committed to
getting veterans involved in this revolution. One quarter of the department's
hires in 2013 have been veterans, according to Moniz, and through two new
programs, the department is hoping to have more women and minorities involved
in the clean energy sector.
Mr. Moniz then turned the mic over to the
champions themselves, who, in two panels, shared their stories of working on the front lines
overseas and of their transition to working in various aspects of the clean energy
sector.
The first of these panels was moderated by
Sharon Burke, assistant secretary of defense for Operational Energy Plans and
Programs. Her expertise in defense led her to the observation that energy is
often taken for granted -- we don't always think about the risk involved in
obtaining that energy. The panelists, veterans who now work in projects like
solar technology, energy storage, wind development, and energy efficiency for
buildings, have all faced first-hand the risks involved with fossil fuels
overseas. One veteran, Andrea Marr, served in the Navy working on oil platform
security. That dangerous job led her to look into energy efficiency -- where
money and energy can be saved by schools and other buildings and then invested
in other things, like teachers. She said that countries in conflict are less
vulnerable if they are using less energy. Adam Cote, a veteran calling in from
Afghanistan, was a combat engineer in the Army National Guard. His engineering
knowledge led him to discover electric thermal storage, a type of technology
that helps decrease the reliance on fossil fuels. Each champion learned from
his or her experiences on the front lines and brought them back to the States with a
clean energy vision in mind.
Leading a second panel, with a slightly different
tone, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, &
Environment Dennis McGinn asked the next six champions of change to share their
"Aha!" moments. These are the moments when the veterans made the
connection between their service overseas and the need for clean energy and
climate security. Liz Perez-Halperin, a Native American veteran, served 8.5
years in the Navy. Working to bring renewable energy and energy efficiency to
bases, she came to realize that "sustainability equals national security,
and sustainability equals peace and prosperity." For Robin Eckstein, a
truck driver during the Iraq War in 2003, her moment led her to this conclusion:
"It's not a right issue. It's not a left issue. It's an American
issue." To Robin, someone "with boots on the ground, sucking fumes in
the desert," this is an important issue -- and it helps to have more
everyday veterans on both sides of the aisle sharing their stories.
Finally, Sherri Goodman, general counsel of CNA
and executive director of CNA's Military Advisory Board, began closing out the
ceremony. She pointed out that military leadership could be translated to
environmental stewardship in many forms. She then introduced Senator John
Warner, former secretary of the Navy and five-time senator from Virginia.
Senator Warner, a champion of change himself and a hero for many of the
veterans and government officials in the room, received a standing
ovation as he took the stage. You could hear a pin drop as he addressed the audience, telling stories of his days as a techie in the military. He
said the top-notch training he received in the Marine Corps taught him how
technology worked and how electricity flowed, and that this set up his desire to
advance energy efficiency and clean energy. This training has helped countless
others, and we need to see more veterans coming back from service and going
into the energy field, he said. The clean energy economy that is here now
depends on the inter-workings of all -- Congress, government agencies, the
private sector, and nonprofits, according to Senator Warner.
As we look to Veterans Day next week, we must
thank our veterans for their service and draw connections between our vets and
our leaders in the clean energy revolution. These people have already served
our country and gained invaluable skills. Now they are using those skills
to once again serve the interests of the rest of us and future generations.
--Dan Byrnes, Sierra Club
Media Team