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The record high price of oil is another
reason the American Army – the world’s
biggest consumer of energy – is shifting to
green energy. The price of oil is expected
to remain high in the near future since oil
production is estimated to have already peaked,
while the situation in the oil-rich Middle East
looks likely to remain unstable.
The Department of Defense is therefore
investing about $500-$600 million on research
and development of solar, wave, biomass and
wind energy, as well as conventional green
energy sources. A new law demanding better
energy effi ciency has been passed, so by 2025
the Army will have to take a quarter of its
energy from renewable sources. But that is
far too little, far too late, say hawks like Todd
Hathaway, a major in the Army who is writing
his Ph.D. thesis on nuclear science, focusing on
new environmentally friendly technology.
“We can’t afford to not fi x this now, and
that can only be done with cutting-edge
technology,” says the fast-paced 36-year-old
outside the Pentagon, whose front yard boasts
a vast fi eld of solar cells.
“Unfortunately there is a strong resistance
against new technology from
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the multi-billion
industry for established green energy. We –
inventors, scientists, retired Army people and
professors – have to invest our own money to
get the projects going. This is serious, as these
are the kind of technologies that will make this
planet survive.”
Woolsey says the fastest solution is the
plug-in car that runs on electricity. They cost
a quarter of the price to drive in comparison
with petrol-guzzling cars; several models are
expected to be on the market within the next
couple of years.
“If we are to get to the core of the problem,
we will have to tackle the car,” he says matter-offactly.
About 70 per cent of U.S. oil consumption
goes to road transport: the country’s 220 million
cars are one of the main reasons why the U.S.
emits most of the polluting greenhouse gas
carbon dioxide in the world.
Despite the green hawks’ efforts, the battle
is far from won, although the issue of the
environment has gone from taboo to trendy
in a short time. Today Washington is buzzing
with talk about the importance of living green,
Hollywood celebrities drive green cars and
Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s
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commitment to improving the environment has attracted young voters in the primaries.
The increased awareness is partly due to Al
Gore’s Nobel Prize and his fi lm An Inconvenient
Truth and individual efforts of individuals such as
Nora “Envirobabe” Maccoby who, at the end of
2005, lectured then-Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld. The 40-year-old fi lm director had just
led an energy delegation to China, one of the
world’s worst producers of carbon dioxide, but
which also harbors one of the fastest growing
markets for alternative energy.
“I told him the rest of the world was
moving ahead with technology that America
developed and America was getting left in
the dust. I told him that we could redeem
the mistakes of the Bush administration and
restore morale within the Army by leading
a new technology revolution. I told him he
could be a hero.”
Rumsfeld described the meeting bluntly.
“She kicked my ass, and she was right,” and
he set the ball rolling. A month later President
Bush talked about America’s “oil addiction” in
his annual State of the Union address.
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