People all over the world respect the U.S. military, but not just for the justice they bring against criminals and enemies of the state. The U.S. military is also famous for their innovations beyond the realm of war; for example, the care to which they give their troops and their contributions to civil engineering are extraordinary.
Some of the U.S. military’s programs might surprise you. The U.S. military offers some of the most progressive and comprehensive health care coverage for their personnel; they also have strong educational incentive programs that help service members and veterans pay for college and vocational schools once they’ve served their country. The military served as the front line for social change during times of segregation, and more recently for gay rights. In other words, the U.S. military is a pioneering institution.
Now the U.S. military is taking the lead for a new era of American energy usage. A recent article in Forbes magazine explains how the U.S. military is planning to became a pioneer in renewable energy. Forbes reports that the U.S. military will open up a whopping 16 million—16 million!—acres of land for various renewable energy projects. The military will develop the land for solar energy, wind energy, and geothermal energy programs meant to establish sustainable alternative fuel resources. The majority of these programs will be researched in the western U.S.—think open fields filled with wind turbines, solar panels, and the like.
The U.S. military has been vying for more sustainable energy solutions for quite some time. The article explains part of their reasoning as the desire to be a more self-sufficient body, one that doesn’t have to rely on refined oil and gas resources in order to complete missions and get the job done. Renewable energy is just a smart decision for the military, because it opens the door to new innovations that could help them sustain the world-class reputation that they’ve maintained for years.
And the military could not pick a better time to voice their support for renewable energy. The renewable energy market has perpetually taken a backseat to fossil fuel extraction, refinement, and distributions in America; our country’s energy market is dominated by oil companies that want to remain profitable in their business. Unfortunately, it’s hard for oil companies to remain profitable if they’re made to compete with renewable energy sources. Excessive lobbying on behalf of oil and gas combined with intense opposition from many in the GOP has caused renewable energy options to stagnate in the U.S.
Hopefully the U.S. military’s investment in clean, renewable energy will serve as a catalyst for private companies to take more interest in the market. Only time will tell.
Article by Jane Smith. Familiar with personal information screenings and online background checks, Jane Smith regularly writes about these topics in her blogs, including the one hosted on backgroundcheck.org. Feel free to send her comments at janesmith161@gmail.com.
