Oil and Coal Companies Deeply Entrenched
Guest blogger Brian McGowan sent me this nauseating piece on the entrenchment of the oil and coal companies.
As we’ve noted often here, one of the leading drivers of environmentalism in the US is the military. This carries with it a certain irony, of course, in that one of its main functions is ensuring our access to oil. Having said that, the military understands that the need to protect oil supply lines in the field is an extremely dangerous proposition – one that costs a significant number of young people’s lives each month.
It is for that reason that today’s news is so particularly shameful. Congress is trying to intervene against the Pentagon’s preference for alternative energy sources. 
Both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House are pushing measures prohibiting the military from investing in or buying alternate energy if traditional sources like coal and oil are cheaper.
Think it can’t get any more disgusting? Wrongo. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is the point man in our intervening in the effort to make our military more energy efficient, and the number one contributor to his campaign are oil and gas companies.
That’s just sickening, Jim.
Sorry Craig,
Wasn’t trying to be nausiating but I know what you are saying. I have actually been following this for several months now but just today found this article. I have also followed articles where large military bases have installed megawatt sized systems only to be held at the mercy of the local utility they are attached to. The utility has the right to shut down those systems and will not allow the base to operate in an off grid manner. That is actually built into their grid tie contract. I have also read some articles about small forward military outposts in Afghanistan using solar panels and batteries and diesel generators that are operating on 1/3 to 1/4 to fuel of a normal forward base. This is good because when the generators are not running the base is quieter and using less fuel means less convoys travelling through hiostile territory and also means that they can vary when those convoys happen so it’s harder for the enemy to figure out when they have to be somewhere to attack it. The enemy’s choice is to forget about it or tie down troops waiting for convoys that might come at any time instead of a regular time. The military also does notice the sea level rising around their seaside bases.
My question is as always with this, if the military gets it, why doesn’t everybody else?