"We cannot drill our way to sustainable prosperity and security"

That's the kind of statement that you usually hear from environmental groups opposed to offshore oil drilling. But this time, it came from retired Vice Adm. Dennis McGinn, a consultant on energy security issues, speaking at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography as part of a hearing by a state Senate committee on climate change designed to gather more information on how energy use affects national security.



Cutting Americans’ addiction to fossil fuel isn’t a tree-hugger issue but a national security one, McGinn told California lawmakers on Friday. Getting more oil within the United States is not a solution, he said. Top military leaders at the hearing told state senators that the armed forces are taking energy issues seriously — by working on ways to make their operations at home and abroad more efficient. In California and Nevada, conservation efforts by the military have reduced energy usage by 18 percent since 2003. The Navy is working on using biofuels in new ships, plus generating power from the sun and the wind on its bases.



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