Brigadier General Steve Anderson, USA (Ret.), an ASP Consensus Member, wrote an article for the Huffington Post on why Hurricane Sandy demonstrates the dangers of climate change, and why we need to move rapidly to cleaner sources of energy. In particular, Gen. Anderson calls for cancelling plans to build the Keystone XL pipeline because it would only serve to increase American dependence on fossil fuels. From the article:

First on the agenda is investing in clean energy. But we will also need to say no to new sources of dirty energy. Take the massive tar sands pipeline proposal, the Keystone XL pipeline, from Canada to the Gulf that Governor Romney has said he would approve on Day One of his Administration. Not only would this override decades of bipartisan review for projects of this size and import, it would take the country down a ruinous path to greater fossil fuel addiction and increase our national security risks from climate change.

As the former Army senior logistician in Iraq, responsible for providing our forces with two million gallons of fuel each day, I saw the impact first hand of our dependence on oil. In Iraq and Afghanistan, over 1000 personnel were killed just transporting oil over long and difficult supply lines. And accessing tar sands oil would contribute to increased greenhouse gas emissions and climate change — which the Defense Department says can “act as an accelerant to instability and conflict.” We urgently need to lessen, not increase, our dependence on oil.

To read the full article, click here.

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