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In 1957, Hollywood released The Deadly Mantis, a B-grade monster movie starring a praying mantis of nightmare proportions. Its premise: Melting Arctic ice has released a very hungry, million-year-old megabug, and scientists and the U.S. military will have to stop it. The rampaging insect menaces Americas Arctic military outposts, part of a critical line of national defense, before heading south and meeting its end in New York City. Yes, its over-the-top fiction, but the movie holds some truth about the U.S. militarys concerns then and now about the Arctics stability and its role in national security. A poster advertises The Deadly Mantis, a movie released in 1957, a time when Americans worried about a Russian invasion. The film used military footage to promote the nations radar defenses along the Distant Early Warning line in the Arctic. [Image: IMDB] In the late 1940s, Arctic temperatures were warming and the Cold War was heating up. The U.S. military had grown increasingly nervous about a Soviet invasion across the Arctic. It built bases and a line of radar stations. The movie used actual military footage of these polar outposts. But officials wondered: What if sodden snow and vanishing ice stalled American men and machines and weakened these northern defenses? In response to those concerns, the military created the Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment, a research center dedicated to the science and engineering of all things frozen: glacier runways, the behavior of ice, the physics of snow and the climates of the past. It was the beginning of the militarys understanding that climate change couldnt be ignored. Army engineers test the properties of snow on Greenlands ice sheet in 1955, a critical determinant of mobility on the ice and one that changes rapidly with temperature and climate. [Photo: U.S. Army] As I was writing When the Ice is Gone, my recent book about Greenland, climate science and the U.S. military, I read government documents from the 1950s and 1960s showing how the Pentagon poured support into climate and cold-region research to boost the national defense. Initially, military planners recognized threats to their own ability to protect the nation. Over time, the U.S. military would come to see climate change as both a threat in itself and a threat multiplier for national security. Ice roads, ice cores and bases inside the ice sheet The militarys snow and ice engineering in the 1950s made it possible for convoys of tracked vehicles to routinely cross Greenlands ice sheet, while planes landed and took off from ice and snow runways. In 1953, the Army even built a pair of secret surveillance sites inside the ice sheet, both equipped with Air Force radar units looking 24/7 for Soviet missiles and aircraft, but also with weather stations to understand the Arctic climate system. The public reveal of U.S. military bases somewherethat remained classifiedinside Greenlands ice sheet, in the February 1955 edition of REAL. [Image: Paul Bierman collection] The Army drilled the worlds first deep ice core from a base it built within the Greenland ice sheet, Camp Century. Its goal: to understand how climate had changed in the past so they would know how it might change in the future. The military wasnt shy about its climate change research successes. The Armys chief ice scientist, Dr. Henri Bader, spoke on the Voice of America. He promoted ice coring as a way to investigate climates of the past, provide a new understanding of weather, and understand past climatic patterns to gauge and predict the one we are living in today all strategically important. In the 1970s, painstaking laboratory work on the Camp Century ice core extracted minuscule amounts of ancient air trapped in tiny bubbles in the ice. Analyses of that gas revealed that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were lower for tens of thousands of years before the industrial revolution. After 1850, carbon dioxide levels crept up slowly at first and then rapidly accelerated. It was direct evidence that peoples actions, including burning coal and oil, were changing the composition of the atmosphere. Since 1850, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have spiked and global temperatures have warmed by more than 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit (1.3 Celsius). The past 10 years have been the hottest since recordkeeping began, with 2024 now holding the record. Climate change is now affecting the entire Earth but most especially the Arctic, which is warming several times faster than the rest of the planet. Since 1850, global average temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have risen together, reflecting human emissions of greenhouse gases. Red bars indicate warmer years; blue bars indicate colder years. [Image: NOAA] Seeing climate change as a threat multiplier For decades, military leaders have been discussing climate change as a threat and a threat multiplier that could worsen instability and mass migration in already fragile regions of the world. Climate change can fuel storms, wildfires and rising seas that threaten important military bases. It puts personnel at risk in rising heat and melts sea ice, creating new national security concerns in the Arctic. Climate change can also contribute to instability and conflict when water and food shortages trigger increasing competition for resources, internal and cross-border tensions, or mass migrations. The military understands that these threats cant be ignored. As Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro told a conference in September 2024: Climate resilience is force resilience. A view of ships docked at the sprawling Naval Station Norfolk show how much of the region is within a few feet of sea level. [Photo: Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Stoltz/US Navy] Consider Naval Station Norfolk. Its the largest military port facility in the world and sits just above sea level on Virginias Atlantic coast. Sea level there rose more than 1.5 feet in the last century, and its on track to rise that much again by 2050 as glaciers around the world melt and warming ocean water expands. High tides already cause delays in repair work, and major storms and their storm surges have damaged expensive equipment. The Navy has built sea walls and worked to restore coastal dunes and marshlands to protect its Virginia properties, but the risks continue to increase. Planning for the future, the Navy incorporates scientists projections of sea level rise and increasing hurricane strength to design more resilient facilities. By adapting to climate change, the .S. Navy will avoid the fate of another famous marine power: the Norse, forced to abandon their flooded Greenland settlements when sea level there rose about 600 years ago. Norse ruins in Igaliku in southern Greenland, illustrated in the late 1800s while flooded at spring tide by sea level, which had risen since the settlement was abandoned around 1400. [Image: Steenstrup, K.J.V., and A. Kornerup. 1881. Expeditionen til Julianehaabs distrikt i 1876. MeddelelseromGrnland] Climate change is costly to ignore As the impacts of climate change grow in both frequency and magnitude, the costs of inaction are increasing. Most economists agree that its cheaper to act now than deal with the consequences. Yet, in the past 20 years, the political discourse around addressing the cause and effects of climate change has become increasingly politicized and partisan, stymieing effective action. In my view, the militarys approach to problem-solving and threat reduction provides a model for civil society to address climate change in two ways: reducing carbon emissions and adapting to inevitable climate change impacts. The U.S. military emits more planet warming carbon than Sweden and spent more than US$2 billion on energy in 2021. It accounts for more than 70% of energy used by the federal government. In that context, its embrace of alternative energy, including solar generation, microgrids and wind power, makes economic and environmental sense. The U.S. military is moving away from fossil fuels, not because of any political agenda, but because of the cost-savings, increased reliability and energy independence the alternatives provide. As sea ice melts and Arctic temperatures rise, the polar region has again become a strategic priority. Russia and China are expanding Arctic shipping routes and eyeing critical mineral deposits as they become accessible. The military knows climate change affects national security, which is why it continues to take steps to address the threats a changing climate presents. Paul Bierman is a fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment and professor of natural resources and environmental Science at the University of Vermont. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Catherine Coleman Flowers new book, Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope, was published a week into President Donald Trumps second term. Grounded in faith, the book weaves together stories about Flowers family, climate change and her work on sanitation rights and infrastructure in rural America. In the first essay, Thirty Pieces of Silver, she compares the infiltration of money into U.S. politics with Judas Iscariots biblical betrayal of Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. Its not just a parable, however: Environmental injustice in the United States is deeply rooted in the ascension of profits over people in America. Flowers founded and leads the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and was vice chair of the Biden administrations White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, as well as a member of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force on Climate Change. Shes also a 2020 MacArthur Fellow for environmental health advocacy and, in 2011, worked with the United Nations special rapporteur to expose environmental injustices in Lowndes County, Alabama, where she grew up, and across the southern U.S. Now, she says, is a good time to read her book and work toward transformation. Last week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin publicly announced 31 changes as part of the agencys greatest and most consequential day of deregulation in U.S. history. In more than 20 different press releases issued on March 12 alone, the agency touted efficiency, blasted burdensome regulations, and slashed programs as part of the EPAs Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative. Zeldin proclaimed that the agency is driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion and cutting or changing long-standing regulations on air and water quality and industry oversight. He also terminated all environmental justice divisions with the EPAs 10 regional offices and its headquarters in Washington, D.C. For decades, environmental justice arms have funded and focused on improving public health, protecting drinking water and clean air, and remediating pollution within communities where poor people and people of color are targeted by industries and routinely and systematically exposed to unhealthy and unsafe living and working conditions. Flowers spoke to Capital & Main from the road on the day after Zeldins pronouncements. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. Capital & Main: What are your top concerns about Zeldins announcement and the EPAs trajectory? Catherine Coleman Flowers: The people that are going to be impacted the most by this are people in rural communities, because its hidden. Most people dont see that people in rural communities sometimes are dealing with dirty air, dirty water, and no sanitation infrastructure. Theyre dealing with contamination from human waste because the sanitation systems dont work or sometimes [people are] simply straight piping because they dont have the funds to do any better. [Straight pipe septic systems funnel untreated waste directly from a home into the ground or surface waters.] When youre thinking about impacted rural communities, what jumps to your mind first and foremost? Appalachia. I think about Appalachia. I think about the Midwest. I think about the colonias in south Texas. I think about Alabama. I think about all these areas in need of sustainable economic development and the infrastructure thats needed to sustain a workforce. A lot of these rural communities are unincorporated, and theyre unincorporated because its hard for them to get the federal funding they need for infrastructure, and for the infrastructure to support sustainable lifestyles, the American norm. In colonias, from California to Texas along the Mexican border, people are living in unincorporated communities, rural areas, but theyre not rural in the traditional sense. In one little community, you could have 1,000 homes there. Theyre all mobile homes, for the most part, and they dont have adequate sanitation, they dont have drainage for when it rains, they dont have, in some places, quality drinking water or access to electricity. Then, what Ive seen in Appalachia: I still saw a mobile home sitting on the side of hills with raw sewage running down the side because they were straight piping. In our study, [Flushed and Forgotten: Sanitation and Wastewater in Rural Communities in the United States in 2019], we found people had tropical parasites in their system because of the exposure to raw sewage. Im from Lowndes County, Alabama, where people existing in poverty are living in mobile homes that cannot withstand a storm. Alabama is one of those states that has a high incident of people dying during tornadoes. Thats because they live in mobile homes, and theyre not resilient, theyre not sustainable, and they dont help people develop wealth because they depreciate in value. Even in some of the more affluent and progressive states, in rural communities, where the poorer people tend to live, they dont have the type of infrastructure that they need in order to exist. Then in the poorer urban areas, they also will have failing systems, and we are starting to find that this is the case across the United States, that sanitation systems are failing. Zeldin, Trump, and others publicly say they dont believe in climate change, that climate change isnt real, but people in positions of power clearly know that climate change is happening and understand its effects. Why do you think that its so important for them to message that climate change isnt real? I think that most people on the ground do know that climate change is real, so I dont understand their position. Im still trying to wrap my mind around that. What does Zeldins phrase Powering the Great American Comeback mean to you, or signal to you? To me, what would be a Great American Comeback would be when everybody is guaranteed a living wage. When there is no more raw sewage on the ground, and we have sanitation systems that work. When we dont have people living on the street, when people have decent housing, and all children can have an opportunity for quality education. To me, that will be when we have the Great American Comeback. How can Americans, especially those in rural communities, have clean air and clean water without the EPA, the federal laws, the leadership and the funding? Is there hope for state or local action? I think there is hope for state and local action on these issues because the people on the ground can see the damage before the federal government even gets involved. We also still have to push for federal involvement and engagement. But maybe some states can become exemplary of what it really looks like to have the type of environmental regulations that protect everybody. Thereis so much fear in the country right now. Do you feel or see that in the communities where you work? I dont really see a lot of fear because a lot of the communities that I work in have been through hard times before. I grew up poor, in a rural community without access to a lot of things that we take advantage of today, and that are being threatened. I was around before we had all these things. We survived. And I believe that were going to survive again. We know that this is only short term. Ultimately, all of us believed in what America is and what the American ideal is. We still support that, and we think were going to get back to that. To be fearful and do nothing is just to succumb. Is there anything that people need to think about right now in terms of action, protecting communities that have systematically been deprived of access to resources? People still need to stay engaged. They need to lift up stories of folks who are suffering and also examples of what success looks like. I think thats very important. We also need to look to the midterms. We need to vote. And some of these people who are fearful need to run for office so they can change things. Laura Paskus, Capital & Main This piece was originally published by Capital & Main, which reports from California on economic, political, and social issues.
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Billionaire businessman, investor, former shark, and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban knows a bit about running a company and leading employees. The serial entrepreneur has founded and invested in successful businesses from food brands to tech startups and pretty much everything in between. Cuban often shares his insights about sweat equity and staying involved in running one’s own business. Here are three of the most actionable pearls of leadership wisdom from Mark Cubanand how you can put these quotes into action in your own leadership. 1. Embrace Sweat Equity “Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is.” Put simply, sweat equity is the value you create through your own hard work. This might be the unpaid work you put into researching your competitors products, perfecting your public-speaking skills, getting to know your customers, or recruiting the best employees for your company. Your time and your effort don’t cost you anything, and pouring both into your work can make all the difference. As a leader, you should also encourage your employees to contribute their sweat equity. This doesnt mean forcing unpaid overtime, of course. According to Cuban, the key to leadership is knowing your employees and finding out how their goals and the businesss goals align. Maybe you have an employee who wants to get into videography and your companys marketing could benefit from some custom videos. Perhaps someone wants to move into management in the future, and theres a cross-functional project they could manage. Mark Cuban isnt the only successful leader who embraces the idea of sweat equity. Other business leaders who have spoken on the value of hard work are: Warren Buffett, CEO and chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway (aka the “Oracle of Omaha”) Dan Graham, cofounder and CEO of BuildASign.com Justin Gray, founder and CEO of five successful companies 2. Be the Expert in Your Field “Know your business and industry better than anyone else in the world.” There are countless ways to boost your knowledge through effort rather than financial investment, making learning one of the most valuable ways to build sweat equity. The more you know about your business and industry, the more you, as a leader, will be ready for any problem or decision that comes your way. “What I’ve learned is that if you really want to be successful at something, you’ll find that you put the time in, Cuban said at the 2017 Inc. 5000 Conference. You won’t just ask somebody if it’s a good idea, you’ll go figure out if it’s a good idea.” You can work continuous learning into your life by: Keeping a running list of any new ideas or concepts you come across so you know which topics you want to learn Breaking new topics down into subtopics that you can learn in small bursts when you have the time Scheduling regular learning timewhether its a scheduled course, a set hour a day, or a few hours each weekend Continuous learning is also an important practice for staying ahead of industry trends. You could: Follow others in your industry on social media and pay attention to new topics Attend industry events and network regularly Use frequent customer and employee surveys Invite your employees to share new trends they come across 3. Lead with Passion and Purpose “Love what you do or don’t do it.” If youre truly passionate about your work, putting in the sweat equity will be a lot easier. If youre bored every time you read about a new development in your fieldits not the field for you, and its going to be hard to put in the work you need to really thrive. Think about your values. What truly drives you? Are you living out those values in your work? For example, if you value helping others, are you consistently soliciting customer and employee feedback and acting on it? If you value recognition, are you going after awards in your field? Not everyone will be as excited about your passions as you are, of course, but passionate leaders can inspire employees. Speak openly with your employees about your vision and youre more likely to get their buy-in. Check in with those you lead to find out where their passions lie and see how they align with your goals. Leadership is having a vision, Cuban said on The Draymond Green Show. Whats my goal? Part two is getting to know the people who are working with me, and what their goals are. And then the real definition of leadership is making those two merge. Conclusion: The Cuban Formula for Success Cubans advice can be boiled down to three key principles: Hard work Constant learning Passion Living out these principles will not only make you more effective at your job, but inspire your employees to do the sameas long as you give them the tools and support they need.
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