Giving Compass' Take:

• Recent survey results found that veterans and active duty members believe in human-caused climate change and care about the threat to national security. 

• The author explains that these findings are significant because of the political influence that the veteran and military service population has on American politics. How will this information potentially impact politicians in 2020? How can donors garner military support for climate action? 

• Read more about the national security implications for ignoring climate change. 

Military concern about the effects of climate change on national security is not new. Months before former Secretary James Mattis left the Defense Department in January 2019, he acknowledged that increased coastal flooding and tropical storms, resulting from rising average global temperatures, pose a threat to as many as one-third of U.S. military bases.

Although climate change could pose major risks to national security, few have asked current and veteran members of the armed forces what they think about climate change and its potential effects. Our new survey research finds that most U.S. veteran members of the armed services in our sample think that the planet is warming, and many of them are concerned about what climate change means for U.S. security.

Despite their conservative tendencies, there is reason to suspect that armed forces members are concerned about the effects of climate change – a position held most commonly by ideological liberals.

First, the survey results showed that even though veterans and active duty service members tend to be politically conservative, their levels of belief in human-caused climate change are virtually the same.

Second, we found that many veterans and active duty service members are concerned about the effects that climate change might have on security.

Third, we found that veterans and active duty service members who accept the scientific consensus on the causes of climate change are considerably more likely to be concerned about its effects on national security than those who do not.

Belief in climate change among past and active military personnel is noteworthy, because veterans are an important and influential voting block in American politics.

Read the full article about veterans concerned about climate change by Robert Ralston, Jennifer Spindel, and Matthew Motta at The Conversation.