DHS: Fossil Fuels and Climate Change are ‘National Threats’


Muddled thinking from the Department of Homeland Security

On February 1, Janet Napolitano’s Department of Homeland Security released a 108-page report to Congress, the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report. Subtitled “A Strategic Framework for a Secure Homeland”, a quick glance at the report left me questioning whether the DHS is more serious about Homeland Security than they are about advancing Obama Administration policy goals.

The following item is in a bullet list of threats to America’s national interests (p. 7):

Dependence on fossil fuels and the threat of global climate change that can open the United States to disruptions and manipulations in energy supplies and to changes in our natural environment on an unprecedented scale. Climate change is expected to increase the severity and frequency of weather-related hazards, which could, in turn, result in social and political destabilization, international conflict, or mass migrations.

If there’s a Smithsonian exhibit on Muddled Thinking and Bureaucratic Gobbledegook, that paragraph belongs in it.

“Dependence on fossil fuels … can open the United States to disruptions and manipulations in energy supplies…” Ms. Napolitano, it is not our dependence on fossil fuels that is the problem, it is our dependence on foreign sources of crude oil and the Administration’s determination to exacerbate the problem by limiting domestic access and punishing small domestic producers. While America probably will never be self-sufficient in energy, we could be a lot less dependent of foreign sources of crude if we 1) explored more domestically, and 2) relied more on natural gas.

If, as you say, disruptions and manipulation of crude oil supply threaten our national interest, then it’s time to start doing something about that threat. Even under the most optimistic assumptions for growth of wind and solar energy, we’ll be using more oil, gas and coal thirty years from now than we use today.

Then there’s Climate Change. No need here to belabor the myriad scandals, conflicts of interest and lapses of judgment that have plagued the Climate Change community of late.

“Climate change is expected to increase the severity and frequency of weather-related hazards…”

We’ve all become conditioned to this blather to the point where we hardly notice. We have, after all, experienced a “hockey stick”, haven’t we, along with an increasing trend in hurricanes and tornadoes?

Hmmm. Not much of a trend there. This graph just considers landfalling hurricanes. Maybe if we look at total hurricanes, landfalling or not, in more detail:

This graph doesn’t include 2009 (which I blogged about here), a rather puny year for storms, even counting a late November storm and an extratropical storm in the North Atlantic that really shouldn’t have counted in the statistics.

OK, there must be a trend in tornadoes:

Hmmm, again. There’s a trend, alright, but it seems like it’s going the wrong way.

Ms. Napolitano, it seems as though your party has a bad habit of taking a government agency with a worthwhile goal (in this case, the critical goal of Homeland Security), and confusing the mission with a mishmash of other incidental policy issues and distractions.

  • Our use of fossil fuels does not threaten our security.

  • There is no evidence of an increasing trend in the number or severity of storms.

  • ManBearPig is not going to kill us all in our beds.

Now, please get back to the serious business of securing our borders and keeping out the bad guys who would do our country real harm.

Cross-posted at VladEnBlog.


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21 Comments Leave a comment

I want my nuclear powered flying car...

anotherindyfilmguy (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 12:31AM EST (link)

Now…

Santorum? Well, at least he’s not Romney…
http://www.zazzle.com/enemy_of_the_statist_tshirt-235977043035297478

 

Why... just why...

anotherindyfilmguy (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 12:32AM EST (link)

Do I have a feeling the derailed logic train of the left is going to go straight to: Therefore Oil is bad and since being dependent on Oil is even worse we should get rid or tax it into oblivion even more?

Santorum? Well, at least he’s not Romney…
http://www.zazzle.com/enemy_of_the_statist_tshirt-235977043035297478

It worked with tobacco. nt

Steve Maley (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 12:47AM EST (link)

The blogger formerly known as ‘Vladimir’.

Disconnect here . . .

bigalsouth (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 7:05AM EST (link)

Janet, I don’t get it. If the earth warms, are we really gonna need all that heating oil we get from regimes that hate us?

Educate, vent, discuss conservative issues at
http://itsaboutliberty.com

 
 
 

further evidence the head of DHS is incompetent, lets hope...

DONTREADONME (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 1:01AM EST (link)

the Defense Secretary doesn’t become as incompetent as well.

 

'Climate Change' is a global scam

Dave Thursday, February 4th at 1:48AM EST (link)

And Janet Napolitano, along with the rest of the Obama cabal, is our true ‘National Threat.’

-Dave

Our elected representatives have failed us.

Amen Dave.NT

bobojake (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 7:00AM EST (link)

ditto that

spepper Thursday, February 4th at 7:14AM EST (link)

Ditto that. The current regime operating out of 1600 Penn Ave is in every perceivable way, a constant threat to the pursuit of happiness as (supposedly) guaranteed by the Constitution– when will our elected officials get that? They will certainly find out, come this November……

 
 

Just look at Eco Terrorists

Greg (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 6:06AM EST (link)

They are a huge threat. Oh I Should not list lefty groups in the report… Where is that delete key. :(

 

Wait -- if our dependence on fossil fuels (read: foreign oil) is a national threat...

randy streu (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 7:17AM EST (link)

how about letting us FREAKING DRILL OUR OWN?!

 

People criticized Napolitano for sleeping during the State of the Union drone fest

RedBeard Thursday, February 4th at 7:30AM EST (link)

But I’m all for it. When she’s asleep, she isn’t doing stupid things.

Sleep, Janet. Sleep. Rock-a-bye. Shhhhhhhhhh.

Standard-bearer for grouchy curmudgeonry since, oh, 1975 or so.

 

While Janet snoozed...

stratdaddy Thursday, February 4th at 8:26AM EST (link)

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/02/ipcc_international_pack_of_cli.html

This isn’t being covered by WaPo, NYT or MSNBC, so she may not be aware of the policy implications going forward.

 

DHS What??

snowshooze (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 12:17PM EST (link)

I thought DHS was an agency dedicated to protecting our country from terrorist attacks and working on security issues..
They have no business in this.
I suppose tomorrow they will take up the security risk of poor health care, the uninsured uprising and the strife of the undocumented aliens… and NASA can work on the groundhog studies.
Ok, it appears that all agencies are at Obama’s beck and call, and the unsaid mission is to further the socialist ideal and support the one…
And with Iran making threats for something to occur on the 11th, I would think DHS would be too busy worrying about that to even dream of something like this.

The DHS covers everything

anotherindyfilmguy (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 12:30PM EST (link)

because everything connects to “National Security”… get used to the idea comrade, before the comrade O allows the idea the get used for you…

all hail the O and his minions!
/

Santorum? Well, at least he’s not Romney…
http://www.zazzle.com/enemy_of_the_statist_tshirt-235977043035297478

Good point

snowshooze (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 2:05PM EST (link)

Furthermore..
I never understood what we needed DHS for since we already had the NSA….

 
 
 

Naysayers

kcdude (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 2:21PM EST (link)

It is obvious to me that those who are not embracing this DHS policy have no idea about the danger of fossil fuel – especially coal. Have you had a lump of coal thrown at you? It can be painful and leave a mark. What about the emotional effect of receiving only coal at Christmas? I understand it can be devastating.

In all seriousness, I think DHS had a bit of a disconnect going back to the beginning – 2003. When it was founded, the beltway influence ruled the day. There was never a sincere attempt to elict stakeholder and ground troop input regarding how DHS might do a better job. Fast forward to today and add to that continuing indifference the extremist psuedo science and pigheaded policy statements that have been showing up since ’08 and it makes me even more determined to make my efforts count in getting conservative lawmakers and policy makers into positions of being the next agents of change. The sooner the better.

 

Great post, Vladimir

Praying (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 2:33PM EST (link)

But you’re preaching to the choir here! I would encourage you to send that directly to our dear chief Nanny, the director of Homeland Security. Your arguments are short, concise, and easy to understand.

No!!!11!1!!1!1! The Bilderbergers are coming

Thanks for that, Praying.

Steve Maley (Diary) Thursday, February 4th at 4:34PM EST (link)

I know my feedback would find its way to the circular file if I sent it to Janet.

“They won”, remember?

I hope that what I write can help educate & inform receptive minds on our side. In the process, I learn a lot, so I’m better prepared to argue my case when given the chance.

The blogger formerly known as ‘Vladimir’.

 
 

Liberals are terrifying

rfpzzzzz Friday, February 5th at 12:27AM EST (link)

The absolute madness of the liberal view toward energy is frightening. Cheap energy, which we have in coal and natural gas in abundance, is the path to freedom and prosperity. Energy ,efficiency and innovation is how our country competes and succeeds. If we don’t chase these liberals back to the asylums they belong in, we will be turned into slaves and paupers.

 

Lindsey Graham in Davos praises Obama on phrasing

katesmith (Diary) Friday, February 5th at 1:45AM EST (link)

Used in SOTU speech selling cap and trade. Tells assembled persons words he, Graham, uses to “sell” the idea. When he brings up the idea of American superiority that clinches it, he gets loud applause. Then, he says, he just throws in at the end the part about it’s good to have clean air.

 

Zealots

mndasher Friday, February 5th at 4:59PM EST (link)

The problem with many working in government, they are Zealots. Call them ideologues, but they are Zealots, as well.

The government hires nut jobs.