Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel recently spoke of the major challenges facing America’s military resulting from climate change. Among the challenges the armed forces may face is rising sea levels that could put Navy docks and other installations under water in places like Norfolk, Va., Honolulu, and other coastal locations.
The Pentagon has been working for years to reduce the military's carbon footprint by using alternative fuels and more stringent energy-efficiency construction standards. Despite these efforts, the military was responsible for 71% of the federal government's carbon footprint in 2010. A federal greenhouse gas report said that more than 60% of the Pentagon's carbon footprint cannot be reduced easily.
A newly released Defense Department report identifies four things that will affect the U.S. military due to climate change: rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, more extreme weather, and rising sea levels. It calls on the department and the military to identify specific concerns, including possible effects on the more than 7,000 bases and facilities worldwide, and to start putting plans in place to deal with them.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/13/climate-change-military_n_5975734.html)
Related Stories
| Jan 31, 2013
Proposed ASHRAE legionellosis prevention standard open for third public comment
Changes to a proposed ASHRAE legionellosis prevention standard associated with building water systems are open for public comment.
| Jan 31, 2013
More severe wind storms should prompt nationwide reexamination of building codes, says insurance expert
The increased number and severity of storms with high winds nationally should prompt a reexamination of building codes in every community, says Mory Katz, vice president, Verisk Insurance Solutions Commercial Property, Jersey City, N.J.
| Jan 31, 2013
California Building Standards Commission adopts 2013 code update
The California Building Standards Commission adopted the new 2013 state standards code that includes new energy code provisions, accessibility standards, green building and water use modifications.
| Jan 25, 2013
D.C. authority wants to halt sewer tunnel projects while investigating green stormwater alternatives
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority has proposed suspending a tunnel-building project.
| Jan 25, 2013
Energy modeling needed to overcome ‘plug load problem’ to meet high green standards
Plug loads illustrate how much end-users impact overall building energy use.
| Jan 25, 2013
ASHRAE publishes revised filtration standard, combines Standard 52.1 and 52.2
A newly revised filtration standard from ASHRAE combines two standards aimed at improving the technical accuracy of filter testing.
| Jan 25, 2013
AISC 206-13 standard for structural steel erectors available for review
AISC 206-13, a quality management system standard for structural steel erectors, is now available for public review.
| Jan 25, 2013
Builders Hardware Manufacturers Assn. revises five ANSI hardware standards
The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) has released five revisions to ANSI/BHMA standards recently been approved by ANSI (American National Standards Institute).
| Jan 16, 2013
Pentagon plans huge spending cuts, including construction funds, amid budget deadlock fears
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has ordered cuts to military spending as a precaution in case the White House and Congress fail to agree to avert $52 billion in cuts to the Pentagon budget this year.
| Jan 16, 2013
GSA's Green Proving Ground program pushes energy efficiency
The General Services Administration, which manages a portfolio of almost 10,000 buildings, is using the Green Proving Ground program to test technological advances in energy efficiency.
