This yr’s Earth Day theme for the Protection Division is “Spend money on Our Planet, Shield Our Future.”
Brendan Owens, assistant secretary of protection for power, installations and setting, spoke as we speak at an Earth Day occasion on the Pentagon.
The division’s main mission is to take care of a strong navy power able to deterring battle whereas making certain the nation’s safety, stated Owens.
To successfully perform this mission, the division will need to have entry to important assets like power, land, air and water, he stated.
“These are required for the event and coaching of our forces each now and properly into the long run. So, we’re dedicated as a division to defending our planet, and making certain well being and security for our folks,” Owens stated.
The division has made exceptional progress in varied areas reminiscent of operational power, local weather resilience and environmental remediation, he stated.
DOD is the chief on energy beaming expertise, he stated
“Due to the investments that we have made, NASA and the Division of Power at the moment are racing to match and enhance on our work to develop this revolutionary technique of distributing power,” Owens stated.
Energy beaming expertise may considerably cut back greenhouse fuel emissions, and result in space-based solar energy, world power distribution networks for humanitarian response and nationwide protection, he stated.
Final month, the division launched the primary groundbreaking demonstration of optical energy beaming in area, he stated.
The division can also be engaged on an all-electric autonomous automobile designed to hold exportable power to the purpose of want, he stated.
“The flexibility to autonomously maneuver by way of battlefields and catastrophe occasions makes it a robust useful resource in making certain the security of our warfighters whereas decreasing our environmental footprint,” he stated.
The division has additionally made vital strides in getting ready for the inevitable impacts of local weather change, Owens stated.
The DOD Local weather Evaluation Software improves the division’s skill to make climate-informed choices by estimating local weather vulnerabilities for all main home and worldwide installations, he stated.
The division expects within the coming months to ship this instrument to 6 companion nations, he stated.
The division has additionally developed water resilience methodologies that drastically advance its skill to evaluate water administration and safety at DOD installations, he stated.
“The methodology offers us with constant, comparable knowledge and helps us consider water dangers that DOD faces and helps us assist resolution making to make sure that our installations are resilient,” Owens stated.
The division can also be working to revive lands which have skilled environmental impacts attributable to previous navy actions, he stated.
By means of the Native American Lands Environmental Mitigation Program, the division has remediated over 100 impacted websites and executed 369 cooperative agreements valued at over $179 million with Native American tribes, he stated.
“The objective of this program is to prioritize well being and human security by restoring and defending pure and cultural assets and return tribal lands to optimum use,” he stated.
“Key developments in power resilience, environmental stewardship, air pollution prevention analysis and cleanup, and local weather resilience will assist us confront a few of the best challenges the division is going through,” Owens stated.
“Army services should adapt to an more and more difficult menace setting. Enhancing power resilience and reliability is vital to that adaptation,” he stated.
The division can also be investing in microgrid expertise and electrical automobiles to assist mission necessities, he stated.
“We’re additionally going to proceed to enhance power effectivity of operational platforms to maximise our skill to function in contested logistics environments,” Owens stated.
The division is pursuing game-changing applied sciences, reminiscent of adaptive cycle plane engines and blended wing physique airframe designs, he stated.
“These applied sciences can cut back power use for our operational forces by 20 to 30%. in comparison with present techniques. Our effort to hybridize floor automobiles and develop microgrids can even lower our dependence on gasoline convoys and enhance operational functionality,” Owens stated.
Hybrid applied sciences leverage auxiliary battery energy to cut back gasoline utilization and emissions when tactical automobiles are idle. This additionally reduces warmth signatures, he stated.
Microgrids can present stability of operations in installations in addition to within the subject, even when infrastructure is underneath assault, he stated.
DOD manages practically 27 million acres of distinctive ecosystems and habitats. This pure infrastructure is crucial for offering real looking environments to check new applied sciences, prepare service members and mitigate local weather change impacts, he stated.
The division is steward of over 500 threatened and endangered species, 55 of which solely exist on DOD lands. DOD is working to maintain and restore threatened, endangered and at-risk species, whereas finishing up its mission-essential actions, he stated.
The division can also be working with the Environmental Safety Company to, measure and clear up contaminated websites at varied areas, he stated.
Joe Bryan, chief sustainability officer and senior advisor for local weather to the secretary of protection; Caroline Baxter, deputy assistant secretary of protection for power training and coaching; and Regina Meiners, director, Washington Headquarters Service, additionally spoke at as we speak’s occasion.