When Michael Morell warned about existential threats to America — things that could destroy the country — he listed three.
One of them, he described thus:
“And then the third, and some people may laugh at this but it’s absolutely true, is climate change. It’s an existential threat to the United States of America and if you don’t believe me look at Puerto Rico. This is an existential threat to us and obviously we’re not paying enough attention.”
Who is this Michael Morell? One of those tree-hugging liberal eco-freaks? A hippie in a three-piece suit?
Hmm… he’s former acting chief of the foreign intelligence service for the CIA. That doesn’t sound like a liberal hippie to me.
Ignore him at your own all our risk.
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Open Mind 
Reblogged this on Don't look now.
This needs reiterating, even though he is repeating what others in government have been saying, e.g., in the DOD Quadrennial Defense Review, 2014: https://climateandsecurity.org/2014/03/04/climate-change-and-national-security-in-the-2014-quadrennial-defense-review/
WTF – that formatted OK on RC! 3rd time pays?
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It appears the US national security/defense establishment was taking AGW seriously before most of us were. For that matter, so was Congress. Somewhere along the way, my country was subverted by cynical AGW deniers 8^(.
Tree-hugging ecofreak hippies… and people who know about risk analysis.
Or understand statistics.
Or have common sense.
Or are still able to distinguish between evidence and ‘evidence.’
Thanks for crediting Bush 41, but all the report had to say was :
“Global environmental concerns include such diverse but interrelated issues as stratospheric ozone depletion, climate change, food security, water supply, deforesta- tion, biodiversity and treatment of wastes. A common ingredient in each is that they respect no international boundaries. The stress from these environmental chal- lenges is already contributing to political conflict. Recognizing a shared responsibility for global steward- ship is a necessary step for global progress. Our part- ners will find the United States a ready and active participant in this effort.”
OTOH, Morrell has yet to change the mind of his former boss, ex-DCI James Woolsey.
Maybe Johan Galtung was right ?
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d7ykxx/us-power-will-decline-under-trump-says-futurist-who-predicted-soviet-collapse
or maybe, like me, he’s just a hippie anarchist ? :)
Of course Galtung’s right. (I say boldly, having not even opened the link yet.) The essential problem is that Trump, like the rest of the elected portion of the Federal government, is entrenched in positions at odds with reality on multiple fronts.
Climate change? A hoax.
Guns? Make us safer.
Toxic pollution? The free market will take care of it.
Healthcare? Free market again, and people die all the time anyway.
Gender and racial equality? This *is* the land of the free!
Trade? We just need to ‘win’ the agreements we make.
Deficit? Only matters when liberals run it up.
And so on… but the net result of all of this (plus Trump’s diplomatic ineptitude and tactical incoherence) is America less respected, more isolated, economically hobbled, and socially divided.
In other words: America sicker, weaker, poorer.
Interesting article on Galtung. This phrase rang true, I thought:
“…lashing out in disbelief at the loss of power.”