U.S. Military Could Collapse Within 20 Years Due to Climate Change

[dubious_doomhammer]

According to a new U.S. Army report, Americans could face a horrifically grim future from climate change involving blackouts, disease, thirst, starvation and war. The study found that the US military itself might also collapse. This could all happen over the next two decades, the report notes.

The senior US government officials who wrote the report are from several key agencies including the Army, Defense Intelligence Agency, and NASA. The study called on the Pentagon to urgently prepare for the possibility that domestic power, water, and food systems might collapse due to the impacts of climate change as we near mid-century.

The report was commissioned by General Mark Milley, Trump's new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making him the highest-ranking military officer in the country (the report also puts him at odds with Trump, who does not take climate change seriously.)

U.S. Military Could Collapse Within 20 Years Due to Climate Change, Report Commissioned By Pentagon Says

Even the US military sees climate change as a substantial threat. I'm curious, if our energy needs can be met by reducing or completely removing fossil fuels, why are people so adamantly against it? I understand that some people, who's livelyhoods are are a result of the fossil fuel industry, would be against losing their jobs .. but if they were retrained and given jobs in renewable energy, then even that argument falls apart.

I did not see a climate change megathread - if there is one, feel free to move this post there.

[Daelak]

U.S. Military Could Collapse Within 20 Years Due to Climate Change, Report Commissioned By Pentagon Says

Even the US military sees climate change as a substantial threat. I'm curious, if our energy needs can be met by reducing or completely removing fossil fuels, why are people so adamantly against it? I understand that some people, who's livelyhoods are are a result of the fossil fuel industry, would be against losing their jobs .. but if they were retrained and given jobs in renewable energy, then even that argument falls apart.

I did not see a climate change megathread - if there is one, feel free to move this post there.

Now let's wait for the high minded conservatives on this board produce mealy mouth explanations of why they are skeptical about this study and how its findings are too subjective in nature and the solutions are just big government boondoggles that wont fix the underlying issues.

[dubious_doomhammer]

Don’t expect anything to actually happen to prevent it... greed comes first.

I understand and expect the greed from corporations .. what I don't understand is the average Joe that has no stake in the fossil fuel industry that defends the corporations and / or denies the science.

[PC2]

The US military can do what all militaries do, adapt to new circumstances or die. If the US military can't handle climate change but the Chinese military can then they are doing something right and deserve to be the superpower.

This whole "collapse in 20 years" is just prophecy though, it's not a scientific claim that can be verified.

[Yadryonych]

US military tends to like to have any case scenario, including a zombie apocalypse one. Nothing would collapse, we'll see some kind of a Dust Bowl-scale event at best.

[Omega10]

Don’t expect anything to actually happen to prevent it... greed comes first.

According to the article linked earlier, one of the solutions is to get to the Arctic first so we can start drilling for oil there before the Russians get there. Apparently 25% of the remaining available world wide oil reserves are there.

One interesting comment that I found quite interesting:

"Water is currently 30-40 percent of the costs required to sustain a US military force operating abroad, according to the new Army report."

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The US military can do what all militaries do, adapt to new circumstances or die. If the US military can't handle climate change but the Chinese military can then they are doing something right and deserve to be the superpower.

This whole "collapse in 20 years" is just prophecy though, it's not a scientific claim that can be verified.

When the world collapses in 25, you can take credit for helping make it happen.

[Velerios]

U.S. Military Could Collapse Within 20 Years Due to Climate Change, Report Commissioned By Pentagon Says

Even the US military sees climate change as a substantial threat. I'm curious, if our energy needs can be met by reducing or completely removing fossil fuels, why are people so adamantly against it? I understand that some people, who's livelyhoods are are a result of the fossil fuel industry, would be against losing their jobs .. but if they were retrained and given jobs in renewable energy, then even that argument falls apart.

I did not see a climate change megathread - if there is one, feel free to move this post there.

Yes, and 20 years ago we had exactly the same bullshit with peak oil, climate change already back then, flooding, acid rain, ozone hole and so on.

It's true that things needs to be done, but these bullshit-prognosis are as said bullshit. Prognosis back in the early 90s said that we should be nearly out of oil right now.

Still: Trump does trump-things: thinking of bringing back these old technology-ressources is stupid; the jobs like for example in the steel-brance aren't coming back: even if more steel gets produced, there will nearly no new jobs, because more and more is automated there. The same with coal: nobody wants it anymore; nobody wants to live near a coal plant; especially when renewables and natural gas are simply better.

The fossil fuel industry will not bring many jobs back; except oil-fracking, i don't think that coal now needs as much personal as it did back then: everything there is automated too: so no, renewable energy is NOT the enemy of the fossil fuel industry, automation is the big enemy of fossil fuel jobs, simply said. And here's the big issue: i personally see it so that renewable energy actually creates more jobs than fossil could do right now (fracking excluded).

So stubbornly hanging on fossil fuel does not only hurt the environment, but also hurt many jobs and many people out there: "It's the economy, stupid."

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When the world collapses in 25, you can take credit for helping make it happen.

The world should have collapsed right now as prognosed by people 20-30 years ago, and before and before and before...

[PC2]

When the world collapses in 25, you can take credit for helping make it happen.

But there's no reason to think that there will be collapse in 25 years.

It's the military's job to be relatively paranoid and go through these hypothetical scenarios. There's no reason to be particularly alarmed about this compared to any of the other hypothetical disasters like nuclear war.

[Daelak]

As expected, piece of shit conservatives deflecting and minimizing the impact that humans have on the world. Their ideology and frame of mind is vapid and historically without value to human society. These are the people that will still be in denial as Southeast Asia destabilizes, throwing two nuclear-armed countries into conservative governments.

[GreenJesus]

With technological advances in farming and power, I think they vastly overestimate the potential damages.

[Collegeguy]

I understand and expect the greed from corporations .. what I don't understand is the average Joe that has no stake in the fossil fuel industry that defends the corporations and / or denies the science.

Usually because many climate solutions have targeted the poor and not the rich because of such greed. Tax on fuel but not much emphasis on outlawing fuel ineffecient cars. Macron for example. Most trucks in the US and EU shouldnt even be on the road today.

[jakeic]

Yes, and 20 years ago we had exactly the same bullshit with peak oil, climate change already back then, flooding, acid rain, ozone hole and so on.

The world should have collapsed right now as prognosed by people 20-30 years ago, and before and before and before...

That's because at the time those issues were addressed with policies and laws being enacted to tackle them, for instance better vehicle regulations have removed the threat of acid rain and has decreased our per capita oil consumption.

[Cruor]

U.S. Military Could Collapse Within 20 Years Due to Climate Change, Report Commissioned By Pentagon Says

Even the US military sees climate change as a substantial threat. I'm curious, if our energy needs can be met by reducing or completely removing fossil fuels, why are people so adamantly against it? I understand that some people, who's livelyhoods are are a result of the fossil fuel industry, would be against losing their jobs .. but if they were retrained and given jobs in renewable energy, then even that argument falls apart.

I did not see a climate change megathread - if there is one, feel free to move this post there.

The world is not going to collapse in 20 years due to climate change, no matter how badly you want it to be true. Also, IF it were true India and China are the problem not the USA. Go cry to them. Lastly, I'd rather your kids live in sludge then me giving up my supercharged V8 vehicle for a Prius. It's just not gonna happen until you take the keys from my dead hands.

[Draco-Onis]

The world is not going to collapse in 20 years due to climate change, no matter how badly you want it to be true. Also, IF it were true India and China are the problem not the USA. Go cry to them. Lastly, I'd rather your kids live in sludge then me giving up my supercharged V8 vehicle for a Prius. It's just not gonna happen until you take the keys from my dead hands.

What the hell? someone is going through a midlife crisis

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With technological advances in farming and power, I think they vastly overestimate the potential damages.

There's really no way to predict adoption rates.

[the game]

I mean AOC said we only have 12 years left to live so 20 years seems pointless to consider.

[GreenJesus]

What the hell? someone is going through a midlife crisis

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There's really no way to predict adoption rates.

Like 10 years ago iPhones didnt exist. We'll be fine. Innovation will solve the problem.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

I understand and expect the greed from corporations .. what I don't understand is the average Joe that has no stake in the fossil fuel industry that defends the corporations and / or denies the science.

Tribe say if corporations get rich tribe get rich.. then I get rich... I am smart.. because tribe says so!

/s

[PC2]

There's really no way to predict adoption rates.

There's no way to predict anything that is non-trivial... If we could we would just look into the future then find the optimal solution to everything.

[Shadowferal]

Like 10 years ago iPhones didnt exist. We'll be fine. Innovation will solve the problem.

No it won't. Greed is the final arbiter.
And if it isn't profitable, and "innovation" isn't in the process already solving the problem now, then why the hell would anyone believe it will happen later?

[PC2]

No it won't. Greed is the final arbiter.
And if it isn't profitable, and "innovation" isn't in the process already solving the problem now, then why the hell would anyone believe it will happen later?

This makes no sense. Just because a problem can't being solved right now that doesn't mean it won't be solved later. In many cases it's just a matter of cutting costs in half a few times. For example in 2019 we can sequester some amount of CO2 given some amount of matter or energy for the transformations. As science and technology advance over time that ratio will increase making the solution cheaper and cheaper to implement.