In era of climate culture wars, U.S. military response to global warming unites

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Sherri Goodman has been worrying about climate change since long before it became a headline issue in American politics. As Undersecretary of Defense (environmental security) in the 1990s, she was one of the first leaders to focus the U.S. military on climate risks as part of its strategy abroad and at home.

Now author of a new book titled “Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security,” Goodman details how the military incorporates into its planning drought in the Middle East and East Africa, rising seas in the Asia Pacific, a budding minerals monopoly in China, new geopolitical challenges in the melting Arctic region, and especially climate disasters in the U.S.

“Our military is now deploying more frequently in response to natural disasters,” Goodman told Callaway Climate Insights last week, noting the National Guard was called in to assist after hurricanes Helene and Milton. “Our military now are often backup to first responders.”