2010-08-30

Energy Security (perhaps) Saves (a lot of) Lives

8.29: co.pol/Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords/energy/Energy Security Saves Lives:
. if this warming is a problem at all,
its real significance is multiplied by
 the size of population;
therefore,
the problem will be solving itself:
if the planet becomes unlivable to
those without high-tech shelters,
then population size will be reduced to
those who have high-tech shelters,
and with the size loss
will go the problem .
. it's just like the biblical Noah's flood:
the weather will be leaving behind
only the god-fearing (tech-loving) guys .


gabrielle.giffords@congressnewsletter.net
date Sat, Aug 28, 2010 at 10:48 AM
In today’s 24-hour digital world,
bad information can spread like wildfire.
One example are rumors regarding
a conversation I had with General David Petraeus ...
Their claims are false:
Claim: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords asked Gen. David Petraeus
what he was "doing to reduce carbon emissions
in the war on terror."
FALSE
Example: [Collected via e-mail, July 2010]
Poster child for what is wrong in Congress
You will simply not believe this.
Our 8th District US Congressional representative, the Hon. Gabrielle Giffords,
in a meeting of the House Armed Services Committee,
asked General David Petraeus the following question:
"General Petraeus, what are you doing to reduce carbon emissions in the war on terror?"
... Gabrielle Giffords is the poster-child
for what is wrong with the US Congress.
General... I am sure you have better things to worry about
than carbon emissions on the battlefield.
... I pray you'll get back to business of
fighting the war on terror without worrying about
such petty and nonsensical matters
as your carbon footprint in the war.
Origins:
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona,
is known for her advocacy of
funding research and development of
renewable energy sources such as solar energy.
(In 2007, she authored the unpassed
Solar Energy Research and Advancement Act to
"support the research, development,
and commercial application of
solar energy technologies.") 
When U.S. Central Commander Gen. David Petraeus
appeared before a House Armed Services Committee
hearing on 16 June 2010,
Rep. Giffords posed a general question to Gen. Petraeus
about efforts to utilize
renewable energy in Afghanistan;
not about "carbon footprints"
nor "carbon emissions,"
and the frame of reference
was not environmentalism
but enhancing security
and lessening the U.S. military's reliance
on inefficient and unreliable
sources of energy:
.. the largest user of energy on the planet
is actually the United States Air Force
and the DoD is the largest user
in the United States ...
. in the last few years
supply lines have been increasingly
threatened either by enemy action
or through international crises,
and in places like Kandahar,
where we have a large presence,
we've been plugged into a very unsustainable
and really an incapable grid system.
We know that a major part of the
upcoming Kandahar offensive
will include some
serious repairs and upgrades
to the energy system
which will include small-scale solar
and hydropower systems
and also some solar-powered street lights.
I'm just curious whether or not
there's plans to utilize
any of those same technologies
at our bases around Afghanistan,
and wouldn't that greatly reduce
our need for fuel?
Rep. Giffords' office later elaborated
on the background behind her concerns:
The Army Counterinsurgency Field Manual
Gen. David Petraeus developed in 2006
states that stable electricity
is a vital element
to defeating the insurgency,
a point he reiterated multiple times
at the hearing.
Arizona National Guardsman Mark Cardenas
saw firsthand the dangers
of our military’s dependence on fuel.
Cardenas guarded more than 4,000 miles of convoys
during his 15-month deployment to Iraq
that began in August 2006.
"Energy independence for the military
is important to me because
the vast majority of the convoys I guarded
were fuel convoys (not food or supplies).
This dependence on fuel
wastes our resources,
puts thousands of soldiers
in danger everyday
and does nothing to advance
our strategic missions.
The Defense Department's
renewable energy initiatives
began in earnest in 2007
at the urging of top military commanders.
In numerous reports,
Marine Corps General James Mattis,
Commander of the 1st Marine Division
in Iraq in 2003,
issued an urgent needs statement that read
"unleash us from this tether of fuel."
Last updated: 28 July 2010 [a month ago]
-- end of snopes .
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (cont'd):
. energy security for our troops is not about
combat restrictions or carbon caps;
It is about
removing our[selves] from harm’s way
by taking them off the IED-laden highways
and out of the sights of Taliban bomb makers
and al Qaida terrorists.
I encourage you to read for yourself
the reports written by our military leaders
and experts on combat arms
[that] further support the argument
that we must reduce fuel convoys
to save servicemember lives:
2008 “More Fight – Less Fuel”
2001 “More Capable Warfighting Through
Reduced Fuel Burden” .
2008 Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force
on DoD Energy Strategy “More Fight – Less Fuel"
This report is a product of the
Defense Science Board (DSB).
The DSB is a Federal Advisory Committee
established to provide independent advice
to the Secretary of Defense.
Statements, opinions, conclusions,
and recommendations in this report
do not necessarily represent
the official position
of the Department of Defense .
summary:
. this is a call to find ways to
solarize or reduce consumption
by investing in high-efficiency systems .
. ac and cooking sometimes use
more energy than all other ground work
much of the time?
they could learn a lot from astronauts
... and robotics ! 
2001 “More Capable Warfighting
Through Reduced Fuel Burden”:
defense science board
fwd: fuel efficiency of weapons systems
-- this report does show
concern about carbon footprint,
but it's listed as the last item .
summary:
. while the DOD is showing
concern for cost,
it is blind to cost factors of
efficiency or fuel delivery .
appendix c:
. future warfighting energy tech:
. the next 10 years of tech
are a dramatically moving target:
the emergence of new fighting systems
that are inherently much more efficient;
eg, robotics; esp'ly nano-robotics;
and new battlefields;
eg, cyber, biological, and "cw" .
-- those technologies are holding
much more promise than
making existing systems more efficient .

. there's already been a shift toward
UAV (unoccuppied air vehicles),
and the best energy money is on
applying this tech to all figher crafts
as there is a very high energy cost
involved in maintaining humans
in the battlefield vs remotely .
. when military service is
not seen as such a heroic sacrifice,
turn-over and training costs
will be dramatically reduced .

. a human-equivalent computer 10**14bits/s
will be $10k by 2025;
and, following moore's law,
there will be a doubling of
possible human cognitive abilities
every 18 months .
(there is an engineering hump:
that of parallel programming;
it's not simple to do that
efficiently right now)
. nano surveilance will
improve intelligence gathering .
(and the availability of
superhuman cognition systems
will make that intelligence
more immediately useful .)
. the military needs to take lessons from
the history of commercial competitiveness:
there are 2 very different
organizations:
# those fighting for a
place at the top; and
# those basking in
their place at the top;
get away from the
quarterly profits mentality
that is eating the seed corn;
and, invest in research
and finding ways to
use the results -- quickly:
reward a culture of rapid change;
eg, have a separate branch of the military
esp'ly for identifying and publicizing
opportunities and implementations of change .
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (cont'd):
You can also read about
some of the many successes
already achieved with these technologies
– one from an operation in
Paktika Province ,
one of the most contested
Afghan-Pakistan border regions,
or another from Mulitnational
Security Transition Command-Iraq .
Sharana District Center Hospital:
The project is contracted out to
Sustainable Energy Sources of Afghanistan,
a nongovernment agency that will provide
solar and wind alternatives.
“It is going to be two wind turbines,
which will produce 7.5 kilowatts an hour,”
“There will also be 24 solar panels
which will provide 200 watts each per hour.”
“It will be sufficient to supply
lighting power to the hospital.
Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq:
. an infrastructure planner for
Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq,
said he’s found the best way to
be environmentally friendly
while saving costs
is to ensure the highest possible
degree of energy efficiency.
recent examples:
# an upgrade to the
internal power generation
and distribution system in Taji
that will eliminate
the need for more than
175 independent generators,
consolidating their work
to 25 generators
operating in three sites.
The ability to run fewer generators
at peak power loads
versus more generators at lower loads
will increase efficiency
by 40 to 80 % .
# training at 25 bases
on the proper maintenance and
operation of power generators.
# alternative-energy pilot projects.
. provide a solar-powered water well
that will eliminate trucking in water and fuel.
. solar-and-wind power for
lights, outlets, communication and security.
8.30: co.apt/pol/energy/global warm is just for lemmings!:
. bbc was on the issue about the world
disbelieving global warming data,
and commented that the whole human race
is like a bunch of lemmings
all running off a cliff .
actually, quite the opposite:
if this warming is a problem at all,
its real significance is multiplied by
 the size of population;
therefore,
the problem will be solving itself:
if the planet becomes unlivable to
those without high-tech shelters,
then population size will be reduced to
those who have high-tech shelters,
and with the size loss
will go the problem .
. it's just like the biblical Noah's flood:
the weather will be leaving behind
only the god-fearing (tech-loving) guys .

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