IBM has released a report warning of huge risks posed to the global utilities sector by climate change. According to the report, “90% of utilities around the world know they are at risk from climate change but fewer than a third said they have performed any financial review of the possible impacts on their business.”
IBM [...]

With all the back and forth over climate change and national security, one issue has been lost in the debate: there are a lot of reasons to look hard at our dependence on petroleum for energy supplies–global warming is just one of them.
Consider that in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the largest cause of casualties have [...]

Two years ago, ASP began asking prominent Americans one question:
What is the single most important lesson we should draw from America’s experience in Iraq?
Our intent was to begin a national dialogue about the Iraq war in order to gain wisdom from the experience.  Iraq Uncensored, recently published by Fulcrum Publishing, is the result.
This posting is [...]

The British government has called for “a radical rethink” in UK food production and consumption. The announcement follows months of internal debate over the future of British food security in the face of increased climate change and global population growth over the next 20-30 years. According to Robert Watson, chief scientific advisor at the Department [...]

International Law And U.S. Courts
By: Peter Charles Choharis
 This week the United States Senate will vote on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  Although few doubt she’ll be confirmed, among the more curious charges raised by her opponents is that she will rely too much [...]

Many are already familiar with the catastrophic decline of the Aral Sea the past forty years. Once the world’s fourth-largest saltwater lake, pollution and the Soviet Union’s redirection of rivers that once fed it have shrunk the Aral Sea to less than 10% of its original size.
The Aral Sea disaster – and the complete [...]

Chairman Kerry asked if climate change will affect the force structure of the U.S. Military.
Admiral Gunn observed that the U.S. military is already well-suited for those kinds of operations. Admiral McGinn observed that there is a role for the U.S. to play before the worst happens.
Senator Shaheen asked if we have the capacity, given [...]

Chairman Kerry asked if climate change will take lives.
Senator Warner, Admiral Gunn and Admiral McGinn all answered in the affirmative that climate change will take human lives.
Senator Lugar raised the spectre of trade penalties being used to enforce climate change objectives and how that will affect the politics of climate change.
Sharon Burke responded that the [...]

Admiral Gunn’s testimony surveyed the case for climate change as a national security concern. We’ll post his complete testimony as soon as the hearing is over.
During his testimony, Admiral Gunn announced the formation of an ASP initiative to educate the public about the linkages between climate change and national security. Stay tuned for more details [...]

Senator Warner’s statement provided a wonderful and personal account of his committment to the cause of countering climate change–including his own witness to the devastating impact on America’s western forrests.
Perhaps his plea to the Senators on the committee to lead and to educate the public was most compelling–and most appropriate to the mission of ASP.