By Trevor Sanders
Within the last decade, the US military, and all its branches, has been making decisions that are allowing them to be more sustainable. When researching information on fossil fuels, I found that the military uses more fossil fuels in America than any other organization. The Department of Defense uses 1.25 billion gallons of fuel every year, and that number is rising. Being aware of how damaging that is to our environment, the military is continuing to protect America and its citizens, while changing behaviors that will allow for a health planet for generations to come.
The US Army, a branch of the US Military, published a new plan of sustainable behavior in 2015. Highlighted in this plan was a design for “smart camps”. These newly designed camps implemented the use of green technologies that will cut 60% of energy that is used. With this plan being used within military camps throughout the world, the amount of energy that the US Army is saving adds up exponentially as time will pass. The energy saving camps will cut down on pollution for years and years to come.
The Coast Guard has also jumped on board with sustainable changes. In recent years, they have made changes to the Navigational Buoy Systems that have been helping all of us learn more and more about our oceans. The materials that are used for this buoy system are no longer dangerous to marine life, or their ecosystem, in any way, shape of form.
Fuel that is used within the Navy adds up quickly and can cause a lot of harm to the environment. With this knowledge, the Navy launched a new program called the “Great Green Fleet”. This program has been around since 2016 and has grown since then. What the Great Green Fleet does is use alternative fuel sources that are not as harmful to the environment in comparison to fossil fuels. The alternative fuel is created from beef fat that is acquired from American farmers in the Midwest.
With all these other branches of the military making changes towards sustainability, the Department of Defense did not want to be left behind from forward thinking. The Department of Defense realized that the number of bullets that are being used in training activities can be harmful to the environment. The metals from bullets that are used can take hundreds of years to biodegrade and release harmful metals into the environment during the process. This is when the “eco-bullet” came into play. The Eco-Bullet is made from biodegradable materials that are not harmful to the environment. There are also bullets that are being created that are packed with seeds! This means while our military men and women are target practicing, they are also scattering seeds across the landscape! Bullets may seem to make only small damages to the environment, but when hundreds of thousands of bullets are being used for non-combat activities, why not find a way to make them help the environment!
Learning that our US Military is aware of the damage that they are doing to our environment, and making changes where it is plausible to decrease that damage, was really something great to learn. The Military is something that is needed to help keep American Citizens, and people around the world, safe. Knowing that they are environmentally aware is a wonderful thing, giving another reason for me to be grateful for the protection, and care, that they provide.
If you are interested in more information within the United States Military regarding sustainability, please visit some of these sites!
