The Pentagon calls climate change a national security threat (but doesn't seem to know what to do about it)

The U.S. Department of Defense released a report this week reiterating the obvious: Climate change is a national security threat. The environmental and social havoc brought by global warming will put U.S. troops and military bases at risk at home and around the world. Nearly all 79 military complexes included in the study already are (or soon will be) facing serious climate impacts such as flooding, drought, wildfires, and desertification—something that, the Pentagon says, will ultimately affect the military’s “missions and operational plans.”  Still, some lawmakers say the slim 17-page report, congressionally mandated in 2017, is too light on details. For instance, the authors left out information specifically requested by Congress, such as a list of the 10 most vulnerable facilities in each branch of the armed services. The report is also notably sparse on ideas for how to combat the climate threats. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, tells Inside Climate News that the Pentagon "is treating climate change as a back-burner issue." This comes as no surprise considering our current climate-denying commander-in-chief, but Reed plans to ask the military for a do-over.