White House: Climate Change Threatens National Security

by Timothy Cama (The Hill) The Obama administration looks at climate change as a threat to national security on par with terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and disease outbreaks.

President Obama’s national security strategy released Friday updates the previous plan published in 2010, with focuses on Russia, Islamic militants and health.

“Climate change is an urgent and growing threat to our national security, contributing to increased natural disasters, refugee flows, and conflicts over basic resources like food and water,” the White House says in the 35-page strategy document.

“The present day effects of climate change are being felt from the Arctic to the Midwest. Increased sea levels and storm surges threaten coastal regions, infrastructure, and property. In turn, the global economy suffers, compounding the growing costs of preparing and restoring infrastructure.”

The administration argues that effective action against climate change will bolster the security of the United States and its allies.

In addition to increasing the urgency in the climate fight, the national security strategy could lend legitimacy to the administration’s efforts to diversify the military's sources of energy. READ MORE and MORE (The Hill) and MORE (The Washington Post) Executive Order (White House)

Excerpt from The Hill: President Obama is directing all federal agencies to factor in rising sea levels when building infrastructure projects.

In a climate change push, Obama issued an executive order on Friday establishing a flood standard aimed at reducing risk and cutting costs of future flood disasters brought on by climate change.

"It is the policy of the United States to improve the resilience of communities and Federal assets against the impacts of flooding. These impacts are anticipated to increase over time due to the effects of climate change and other threats," Obama said in the executive order.

"Losses caused by flooding affect the environment, our economic prosperity, and public health and safety, each of which affects our national security," the order states.

The new standards give agencies three options on how to prepare for floods and use them in the siting, design and construction of federally funded buildings, roads and infrastructure.

The three choices: Use data and methods provided by the "best-available, actionable climate science," build 2 feet above the 100-year flood elevation mark for standard projects and 3 feet for "critical" buildings like hospitals and evacuation centers, or build to the 500-year flood elevation. READ MORE