clipped from dissidentnews.wordpress.com

The Pentagon foresees a two-front threat to national security: global instability spurred by climate change and a crippling dependence on oil.

America’s economic dependence on foreign oil isn’t exactly news.

But it’s being viewed with a new level of urgency at the Pentagon - not because military planners are worried about the price of oil (in planning and acquisition, the Defense Department treats oil as if it were a free commodity), nor because of any high-minded concerns about the environmental consequences of fossil-fuel consumption.

The Pentagon is pursuing alternative fuels for the same reason it pioneered racial integration and developed the Internet - mission effectiveness is on the line.

“You used to hear senior commanders say, ‘Look, we’re not built to be efficient. We’re built to be effective,’ ” Pudas says. But now, energy inefficiency is hurting combat effectiveness. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Iraq.