CNN —
The effects of two devastating hurricanes in the past two weeks raise the threat that rapid climate change has the potential to cause far more damage to American lives than traditional adversaries such as terrorists and authoritarian states. It highlighted that.
Monster Hurricane Milton has wreaked havoc on parts of Florida, and climate scientists have no doubt that rapidly warming oceans are increasing the strength of such storms.
This comes two weeks after Hurricane Helen caused major damage in areas like Asheville, North Carolina, hundreds of miles inland. These regions appeared to have been spared from the worst effects of climate change. Helen killed at least 232 people.
Treating climate change as a national security issue is not a liberal position, but a staunch realist position. In fact, the Pentagon has explicitly stated that it is, and has “elevated” it to the list of threats facing the United States. Three years ago, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin could not have put it more clearly: The same goes for the climate crisis. ”
Major U.S. naval bases in low-lying areas such as Norfolk and Virginia Beach, Virginia, are under threat from rising sea levels due to climate change, and the Department of Defense is working to reduce the effects.
It is also causing an exodus of climate refugees, further exacerbating the turmoil of conflicts around the world. In Sudan, for example, one of the deadliest wars on earth is going on today.
According to historian Peter Roddy’s recent book, The Battle for National Security, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt defined U.S. national security in its current narrower definition of freedom from attack from outside powers. It is said that he had a broader concept than the concept.
Roosevelt believed that national security meant protecting the lives of all Americans. That’s why Social Security (a program Roosevelt signed into law in 1935) is called Social Security, not Social Welfare, for example. Today, Social Security is one of the U.S. government’s most popular programs.
On January 6, 1941, as the Nazis were conquering vast swathes of Europe, Roosevelt spoke of his broad views on national security in his State of the Union address, calling it “freedom from want, a world term.” He emphasized the need for “translation to mean economic meaning.” Every country, wherever it is in the world, will have the understanding to ensure a healthy normal life for its people. ”
Lodi said the Cold War and competition with the Soviet Union changed the concept of national security, which became its current narrower meaning of freedom from attack by competitors.
This national security framework persisted even after the 9/11 attacks. The George W. Bush administration’s 2002 National Security Strategy states, “We protect peace by fighting terrorists and tyrants…Defending our nation from our enemies is the federal government’s first and fundamental commitment.” states.
Rebuilding what constitutes national security should now be a top priority, and climate change is not the only existential threat. Consider that the COVID-19 pandemic has killed nearly as many Americans (1.2 million) as in every war since the American Revolution.
Politicians are being forced to think seriously about planning for the next pandemic as global travel becomes easier. The United States remains woefully unprepared for the next pandemic, according to the bipartisan Coronavirus Crisis Group, which released a detailed report last year.
The devastating effects of this fall’s hurricanes may also prompt U.S. politicians to seriously launch plans to reduce risks from climate change, such as restricting new construction in flood zones.
After Hurricane Milton, Americans should ask themselves: Are we safer now from threats like climate change and pandemics? If not, is it time to start having a serious discussion about what truly constitutes national security?
