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Award winning film, 'The Burden' to be shown at Marshall Public Library April 10

Idaho State Journal - 4/10/2018

POCATELLO — “The military is planning for climate change; they believe it’s real,” said retired Maj. Gen. Rick Devereaux, 34-year U.S. Air Force veteran. In the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which was passed by Congress, The Department of Defense was directed with these words: "climate change is a direct threat to the national security of the U.S. and is impacting the stability in areas of the world both where US armed forces are operating today and where strategic implications for conflict exits. The DOD must be prepared to address the effects of a changing climate today and in the future.”

Military commanders are charged with planning to mitigate climate damage in their master planning. This is most evident at 128 coastal military installations which are at risk for sea-level rise.

“The military is not in denial, they are front and center,” says Devereaux. They are moving away from fossil fuels for three reasons. First, fossil fuels are a source of international conflict, second, our U.S. Navy is charged with keeping eight strategic choke points open — this is both dangerous and expensive. Finally, fossil fuels are a huge logistical burden, a point of vulnerability which limits our fighting effectiveness and expensive both in lives and treasure.

“Our military has to be unleashed from the tether of fuel,” says Trump administration Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

To learn more, see the award-winning film, "The Burden," about our fossil fuel dependence as our greatest long-term national security threat and why the military is leading the transition to clean energy. It will be showing for free at the Marshall Public Library on Tuesday, April 10; panel discussion to follow. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7 p.m. Questions? Find Citizens’ Climate Lobby Pocatello on Facebook.