Climate change.

• Author: Parsons, Dan
• Position: Special Report

* For the U.S. military, climate change is a "ring-road" issue that surrounds its future strategic planning.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

No matter which way the Defense Department turns, U.S. global interests will eventually intersect with the effects of a warming planet, analysts said.

While politicians debate the legitimacy of climate science, the Defense Department has recognized it has a practical, hard-security interest in tackling issues like its energy footprint, said David Michel, director of environmental security at the Stimson Center.

"There's no tree-hugging, sandal-wearing, granola eating aspects to the military's approach," Michel told National Defense. "The water-food-energy nexus of issues caused by climate change is going to be a rising challenge for the military and the national security strategy reflects that."

The military will have an ever-increasing need for sensors and observation platforms to keep constant watch on how climate change manifests itself through weather and ecological phenomena, said Michel.

"These technologies are increasingly particularized and specialized," he said. "We need to make sure that all of our eyes in the sky are not only looking at North Korea, for instance, but gathering a wealth of data from many areas. We need an inclusive data network to which many different observation technologies contribute."

At the ends of the Earth, where climate change is already noticeable in receding ice caps, the same technologies are needed to monitor the melt, said Heather Conley, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Coast Guard will also need new ships that can patrol the cold waters of the Arctic, to provide a constant presence in what could become the world's newest contested open ocean, she said.

The 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review lists resource scarcity, climate change, disease, and demographics as "enduring trends" that threaten national security.

The challenge for the U.S. military as it shifts its primary focus to the Pacific Ocean, will be balancing its response to acute events with a chronic, sustained preparedness for the long-term effects of climate change, Michel said. The Pacific already averages 70,000 annual deaths to natural disasters ranging from floods to typhoons and earthquakes.

"We're likely to see more of those sorts of acute events," Michel said. "But even at the same frequency and strength as we see them today ... as populations...