OPINION: State uniquely positioned on climate change

When former Sen. John Warner, R-Va., went to Charleston last month and provided insider analysis on climate change and its relationship to national security, he brought the debate to a state skeptical about the benefits of global-warming legislation.

National security experts are beginning to change their views on global warming, creating new advocates for tighter controls on greenhouse gases.

Warner served as secretary of the Navy in the 1970s and has proposed tighter carbon emissions standards and leadership in reducing pollution worldwide.

The consequences from global warming directly affect the U.S. military and its ability to protect this country. The wrinkle led to House passage of the newly written American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) in June.

Trends in climate change raise serious questions about the use of military resources if doomsday forecasts about global warming are true. Unrest throughout the world concerning food shortages and the importance of cleaning up the environment take on an added significance for the men and women sworn to protect this country.

“Global climate change has the potential, if left unchecked, of adding missions to the already heavy burdens of our military and other elements of our nation’s overall national security,” Warner has said. “To the extent we can plan today how best to minimize these contingent disasters means the less we have to call upon our armed forces tomorrow.”

Terrorists groups have the ability to thrive where there’s uncertainty and desperation. This country uses 25 percent of the world’s oil supply and controls only 3 percent of it. It makes sense to break our overwhelming dependence on fossil fuels and to overcome inefficiencies.

Warner’s appearance and the military’s concerns over global warming affect South Carolina because the Palmetto State is uniquely positioned to take advantage of the push to go green with its access to nuclear power and renewable energy.

Nuclear power is a clean source of energy, despite worries about leaks and contamination. South Carolina produces more nuclear energy than any other Southeastern state.

And support for coal-powered electric plants took a hit Wednesday. A federal study of mercury contamination found unsettling amounts of toxic chemicals in streams nationwide, especially in the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana.

The main source of mercury to most of the streams tested, according to the researchers, is emissions from coal-fired power plants, giving us pause about Santee Cooper’s push to build its Pee Dee Energy Campus, a 600-megawatt coal-fired generation facility, on a 2,709-acre tract in Florence County near the Great Pee Dee River.

Meanwhile, renewable sources seem part of the state’s solution. The ocean makes South Carolina capable of taking advantage of wind technology. Santee Cooper has been a leader in the study of wind resources, forming the Palmetto Wind Research Project.

Some estimates indicate 11,000 jobs could be created in South Carolina if the state embraces wind technology, and we think it should.

ACES was conceived as a plan to cut dependence on oil, encourage clean energy and reduce pollution. The central component is a program to reduce global warming by 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.

If passed into the law, the bill would drive investment in renewable energy, spurring economic development and putting South Carolina at the forefront of the push.

More than any change, improvements in home energy efficiency have the potential to produce immediate results. Efficiency improvements lower the demand for electricity and decrease emissions. A state push for energy savings would spur investment and jobs.

The Senate will vote on ACES in the fall. South Carolina’s Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint, will be under pressure from conservatives to oppose the measure.

We understand the hesitancy to embrace the global warming science. There’s plenty of good and bad information out there.

In the final analysis, the reduction of global warming will make us more secure. It will reinvigorate the economy and put South Carolina at the forefront of change.

— Unsigned editorials represent the views of this newspaper. Editorial Board members are Mark Laskowski (regional publisher), James Bennett (regional editor), Sam Bundy (sports editor), Kimberly Ginfrida (news editor), David Johnson (regional circulation director), Charles Tomlinson (Lake City News & Post editor) and Jackie Torok (metro editor).