Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told an Environmental Defense Fund reception in Washington last night that the role of climate change in national security is one of the environmental considerations that “weigh heavily” on the Pentagon.
“Though we are looking at environmental issues, these days I’m a little more focused on the operations of a different kind of SEALs,” Panetta quipped.
The Environmental Defense Fund was honoring the Pentagon for conservation efforts — for example, the designation of Fort Ord on the California coast as a national monument.
“In the 21st Century, the reality is that there are environmental threats which constitute threats to our national security,” Panetta said. “For example, the area of climate change has a dramatic impact on national security: rising sea levels, to severe droughts, to the melting of the polar caps, to more frequent and devastating natural disasters all raise demand for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.”
“I was pointing out the other day that with the polar cap melting, we now have problems with regard to who claims the area in the polar region,” he continued. “And very frankly, one of the things I hope we get a chance to work on is to finally get the United States of America to approve the Law of the Seas treaty, which has been hanging out there for so long.”
The EDF also heard from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus on his department’s efforts on clean energy and the environment.
“Melting Polar Cap”
I guess nobody in the Pentagon is actually looking at the data.
– SEALS into every conversation, Little Bread.
LOST- Law of the Seas Treaty. Seems he’s working for the UN, not the US.
Well . . . .yeah!
Remember, this is the guy who said international concerns take precedence over national security in deciding whether we use our military. Panetta is a firm believer in having American troops be mercenaries for the rest of the world. And we still get to pay these “mercenaries.”
So, if the Earth decided to form a supercontinent again would that be a national security risk?
Oh, my Lord. This environmentalism religion is getting out of hand.
Hey Mr Pinhead (Panetta) – better check with you’re submariners – last I checked they are having the same difficulty in breaking through the winter ice as they did in 1955.
I guess facts have no sway to these idiots. Nothing worse than Inconvenient Facts — eh AlGore?
Sometimes I wish I could go back to the good old days of being one of the cool kids because I BELIEVED in “global warming” (you know something so complex as the climate and human impact and economic solutions can be boiled down to a buper sticker). It was so much easier. I never had to defend myself or use reason, all I had to do was call someone a stupid denier and I got to stay in the cool kids club. Darn you critical thinking, why did you have to make your way in to my brain to make my life more challenging?
I think a good answer would be:
“Yes we are very concerned about it. In fact we think that your prediction of impending severe catastrophe which may threaten the entire human race with extinction if we do not do something soon is absolutely correct.
We are dissapointed that the governments of the world have not acted and no longer consider current strategy to be an alternative.
Therefore, beginning immediatly, we are evacuating the states of Wyoming and Montana. Once the evauation is complete we will detonate a large portion of our nuclear stockpile there. The resulting cloud of smoke and debris, as proven by science, will reverse the deadly warming process.
We regret having to make this decision however I think you can all agree that once this area is free from humans it can restore to its natural state eventually which is what we all want anyway. You have convinced us and we will act decisively with the only tools we have available which are capable of saving our planet and species.”
Don’t give them ideas.
Ooh – nuclear winter! Time to start polishing my skis.
We could also blow up some oil wells. Remember the ice age that overtook us when the Iraqis blew up all those Kuwaiti oil wells during the Gulf War – just as Carl Sagan predicted?
Territorial claims. Wouldn’t that be Russia vs. Canada? Does that have anything to do with us?
To quote Bugs Bunny, “What a maroon”, how can in the world can anybody take these clowns seriously?
Okay Leon, we’ll get right on it in January. Bwahahahaha……
If one can lay claim to the frozen surface of a body of water, that brings up all sorts of new possibilities with regards to real estate. If I build a house on a frozen lake during winter and claim homestead rights, do I still own that piece of property when the ice melts come spring?
“Melting Polar Cap”
Tsk tsk fisker… if he had half a brain hiding behind his prodigious proboscis panetta would know that NASA, between leading positive affirmation classes for muslim “scientists”, has observed the ice masses of both the North and South Poles from whatchacallit, oh yeah SPACE, and over the last couple decades found them both to be increasingly larger.
But pish posh- why let reality and facts intrude on a perfectly good leftist screed advocating a further power grab?
These people cannot be that stupid. That means that he is attempting to further the global warming scam or just pander to the audience.