This story was originally published by Mother Jones and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Of all the federal agencies in Trump’s Washington, the Department of Defense might be the one least equipped to dismiss climate change given its obvious danger to the safety of coastal bases and troops. But the military’s tendency to prioritize more immediate threats has been a recurring problem, especially when the current commander in chief believes the scientific consensus around global warming is a hoax.
Among the many congressional Democrats concerned by this lack of progress is Senator Elizabeth Warren, a 2020 presidential candidate and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. At least six times in the last two years, Warren has asked senior military leaders to acknowledge the threat posed by climate change. None denied the threat, but unsatisfied with the Pentagon’s follow-through, she called on General Joseph Dunford, outgoing chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to more explicitly identify the department’s approach to combating climate change in a letter released on Tuesday .
“This uniformity of opinion among military leaders un... Read more
