Energy

The Center for Naval Analyses has put out a snazzy new study of the problems energy presents for national security. It is well done, as far as I can tell-I'm no expert in this area. Some surprising angles are explored, like a discussion by retired Rear Adm. David Oliver Jr., a veteran submarine commander, of the difficulties of the Navy's transition from diesel subs to nuclear-powered ones:

You had to essentially destroy the diesel boat community in order to ensure that the nuclear boats could emerge."

Here are the basic findings:

Priority 1: Energy security and climate change goals should be clearly integrated into national security and military planning processes.

Priority 2: DoD [the Department of Defense] should design and deploy systems to reduce the burden that inefficient energy use places on our troops as they engage overseas.

Priority 3: DoD should understand its use of energy at all levels of operations. DoD should know its carbon bootprint.

Priority 4: DoD should transform its use of energy at installations through aggressive pursuit of energy efficiency, smart grid technologies, and electrification of its vehicle fleet.

Priority 5: DoD should expand the adoption of distributed and renewable energy generation at its installations.

Priority 6: DoD should transform its long-term operational energyposture through investments in low-carbon liquid fuels that satisfy military performance requirements."

Btw, this is an area is which Sharon Burke, the czarina of "natural security" at  my own CNAS, is doing a lot of interesting work. More on that next week at the annual CNAS hoedown, which kicks off with some guy named Petraeus and winds up with a free beer for anyone who makes it through the whole day.

He's the king of the federal government's anti-terror ninjas. So what keeps him up at night? Apparently, energy and climate change, according to the Stanford blog Bellum: 

Q: "The challenge for my grandparents' generation was World War II. For my father's generation, it was the Cold War. Is there a generational challenge for mine?"

Crumpton: "Yes. First, I'm more than pleased and really proud of your generation. I see their concern manifested in issues related to energy, to the environment, to national security - just look at the young men and women that are fighting for our country in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, or the young entrepreneurs that are advancing our society. So I'm very optimistic when I look to your generation, but there are some big challenges: the fundamental shifts in the nature of warfare, the degree of asymmetry that we see, energy challenges, climate change that is going to come far quicker than most people realize, and the issue of leadership through networks. How do you work independently to achieve your objectives? And so there are a number of challenges, and of course some of the biggest challenges will hit us five years from now, and no one knows what they are."

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