First Coast Connect
ASP in the News: LtGen John Castellaw USMC (Ret.) on WJCT
On August 23, 2021, former ASP board member LtGen John Castellaw USMC (Ret.) was featured on WJCT’s Monday’s First Coast Connect radio show where he discussed community resiliency in Jacksonville, Florida. Castellaw also touched on the institutional history behind the military’s approach toward climate mitigation. He mentioned that climate change efforts became more centralized once they were designated by the Center for Naval Analysis as a threat multiplier. This means climate change will affect and exacerbate existing issues the military faces, domestically and abroad.
“From the day I started in the military the climate and the weather has been such an important focus. You learn first that the weather, terrain and the enemy are things that you always consider when you conduct and plan for operations.”
During the interview, LtGen Castellaw was asked “how can the military be a part of the solution on moving towards net-zero energy and drawing down emissions?”
“Since early 2000 to now a lot of effort has gone towards net-zero installations and finding other alternative energy uses. Over reliance on other nations to provide us with military fuel as we did in Iraq and Afghanistan is a danger to national security.”
On August 24, 2021, LtGen Castellaw joined a panel in Jacksonville, Florida as a part of the ASP National Climate Security Tour with members of the local city council in order to spread awareness on the national security aspect of climate change. The event was cosponsored by the Northeast Regional Planning Council and ASP in partnership with WJCT and ADAPT. In addition, they discussed the importance of further investment in Jacksonville infrastructure to prepare for the impacts of climate change.
You can find the recap of the interview for more information here.
