Obama Forcing Military to Measure Arctic Ice Levels By Ben Wolfgang
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/22/obama-forcing-military-measure-arctic-ice-levels/
Though stretched thin by the aftermath of two wars and the current fight against the Islamic State, the Obama administration has enlisted the Pentagon to measure the shrinking ice in the Arctic in the latest example of the president’s climate agenda being extended to the military.
A recent Government Accountability Office report examined the Defense Department’s role in the Arctic, which increasingly will include “monitoring the changing Arctic conditions,” such as ice levels.
The administration contends that changing ice levels in the Arctic could require additional U.S. military presence in the region, justifying the need for the Pentagon to commit significant time and resources to monitoring the effects of climate change.
“Decreasing seasonal sea ice in the Arctic has made some Arctic waters navigable for longer periods and, as a result, may contribute to new economic opportunities in commercial shipping, oil exploration, and tourism. This could eventually increase the need for a U.S. military and homeland security presence in the Arctic, particularly in the maritime environment,” the study said.
To prepare for that future, the Defense Department already is serving as the lead U.S. agency in monitoring sea ice levels in the Arctic. Keeping tabs on ice levels could keep the government from making unnecessary investments in the region, the GAO report said.
“Difficulty in developing accurate sea ice models, variability in the Arctic’s climate, and the uncertain rate of activity in the region create challenges for DOD to balance the risk of having inadequate capabilities or insufficient capacity when required to operate in the region with the cost of making premature or unnecessary investments,” the study says. “DOD plans to mitigate this risk by monitoring the changing Arctic conditions to determine the appropriate timing for capability investments.”
President Obama in recent months increasingly has tied climate change to national security in an effort to sell his sweeping environmental agenda to a skeptical public. During a speech at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremony last month, the president focused almost exclusively on climate change and made clear he believes the military will be on the front lines of the battle to save the planet.
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