To the Journal editor:

As greenhouse gases increase, sea levels are rising, average global temperatures are increasing and severe weather patterns are accelerating. These changes, coupled with other global dynamics … will devastate homes, land and infrastructure.”

Is this statement from a) the Sierra Club, b) the Democratic Party platform, or c) recently uncovered documents confirming a Chinese plot to harm U.S. manufacturing?

The answer is actually d) none of the above. It’s from the Department of Defense, which has expressed concern about climate change since the George W. Bush Administration. Dozens of Defense Department documents on this issue can be accessed at climateandsecurity.org.

In his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Donald Trump denounced climate activists as being “the perennial prophets of doom.”

What I don’t understand is how the Department of Defense can clearly state that climate change is a national security threat, yet President Trump, who is usually so supportive of our military, can continue to dismiss it.

References: U.S. Department of Defense 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, Chapter 1, p.8 http://archive.defense. gov/pubs/2014_Quadrennial_Defense_Review.pdf

Chronology of U.S. military concern about climate change

Defense