Defense Department Redefines Climate Change
The question is not an existential one for the Department of Defense; it is a matter of careful and literal consideration. The department recently decided that the standard Websters definition of climate change didnt quite meet its needs. So it added its own version to its homegrown dictionary, the . Heres how it now defines climate change: Variations in average weather conditions that persist over multiple decades or longer that encompass increases and decreases in temperature, shifts in precipitation, and changing risk of certain types of severe weather events. The dictionary, which is used in part to standardize military communication, is updated monthly, and the new entry on climate change was made public in late February. The military adds definitions when the Websters dictionary entry is considered insufficient, Richard R. Osial, a spokesman for the Joint Staff, explained in an email. And definitions can have policy implications. This new explanation for climate change was added because there are many definitions for climate change floating around right now, and the department needs to ensure that whenever the term is used in Department of Defense issuances, it has a specific definition, Mr. Osial wrote. Through this definition and other policy plans, the department has acknowledged that the countrys landscapes, climates and resources will likely undergo serious changes because of rising temperatures and other risks associated with climate change. Specifically, the department anticipates increased need for air, sea and land capabilities and capacity in the Arctic region, and damage from thawing permafrost and sea ice in Alaska and the Arctic region, Mr. Osial wrote. Some additional risks they associate with climate change portend a grim future. Those risks include disruption to and competition for reliable energy and fresh water supplies and changed disease vector distribution, increasing the complexity and cost of ongoing disease-management efforts, among others, he added. The definition was added as a result of two executive orders issued by President Barack Obama, which required several government agencies to or achieve certain environmental benchmarks, including over the next decade. In 2014, an unofficial plan for adapting to climate change was developed by Chuck Hagel, the defense secretary at the time, and was later established as official policy for adaptation and resilience agencywide in 2015. In the beginning of this year, the department also identified nearly 80 policy areas where it can make changes to consider the effects of climate change, updates which it expects to complete by 2025, Mr. Osial wrote.