National Wildlife Federation’s Oregon affiliate, the Association of Northwest Steelheaders (ANWS), is preparing to launch an exciting and innovative program that aims to help returning war veterans develop new skills and ways of responding to stress while learning to preserve wildlife and the natural habitats that support them.

River Ambassadors

The River Ambassador Program is designed with two goals in mind: to teach the value of preserving wildlife and natural habitats and to assist veterans in developing new skill sets that allow them to better respond to the stress and challenges that inevitably accompanies the return to civilian life.

The program’s initial three-day course, scheduled for September 13-16 near Madras, Oregon, is the brainchild of ANWS’s Executive Director Russell Bassett. A recent Iraq veteran himself, Bassett can speak personally to the great therapeutic healing properties found in the sport of angling and in experiencing the great outdoors. “Angling helps develop coping skills that help alleviate stress and helps find inner peace and a sense of serenity,” said Bassett. “Although the course speaks of life found in rivers and streams through the eyes of the angler, the connection is intentionally to get the participants to integrate successfully back into civilian life and to be life-long stewards of the environment. Respect for nature and its inhabitants are our core focus. The program will foster respect for our differences yet simultaneously celebrate what we have in common as war veterans, a high regard for natural habitats, the sport of fishing and our human bond.”

Participants in the program will have the opportunity to learn the skills of river and nautical reading, and will learn about salmonid life history and conservation, entomology, and different fishing techniques, including fly fishing for trout and steelhead and gear fishing for salmon and steelhead. A guided drift-fishing trip completes the program on the last day. Each participant will receive a full set of fishing gear (rod, reel, lines, flies, lures) for their use during the program and to keep and continue their process on the river wherever life takes them.

Free to Qualified Members of the Military

ANWS’s River Ambassador Program is offered free of charge to qualified members of the military who have recently returned from deployment. With the success of September’s pilot program, plans call for expanding to at least two programs a year in coming years. But that depends on securing adequate program funding and support. Donations of funds or of guiding, rods or equipment to support this terrific program can be made by contacting ANWS via www.nwsteelheaders.org, office@anws.org, or 503-653-4176.

Learn more about the River Ambassador Program here: www.nwsteelheaders.org/conservation/river-ambassador-program

I grew up in a military family as passionate about recycling and nature as it was about patriotism and public service. I guess it’s no surprise these twin passions drive my favorite Veterans Day activities: thanking the veterans in my life and taking some time to Get Outside. This November, I’d like to share some of the opportunities available in Washington State.

Thanks for reading and feel free to share your Veterans Day and Great Outdoors stories on Twitter or our Facebook site!

1. Spend time with a veteran in our National Parks - free!

Admittance is free to five of our National Parks and Historic Sites over Veterans Day weekend, November 11-13. Which one will you choose?  The thick green and ancient feel of Olympic National Park? The mountain meadows and iconic trails of Mt. Rainier National Park? The wind-swept beaches and coastal rainforests of Lewis and Clark National Historic Park? Or perhaps you’ll tour the Fort Vancouver or Whitman Mission Historical Sites?

Cannon Beach, Oregon - Looking south from Chapman Point Image: flickr/OSU Special Collections & Archives

2. Remember Washington veterans at the Seattle Veterans Museum

4. Attend Veterans Day Ceremonies throughout Washington State

Events are scheduled the week of November 5-12 all over the state including:

Jimmy Carter lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, 11/11/1978 Image: U.S. National Archives

• Evergreen Washelli’s 62nd Annual Veterans Day Memorial Celebration will take place near the Doughboy Statue at the base of the Veterans Memorial Cemetary, beginning at 7 AM on the 11th.
• At the State Capitol Grounds, the 20th Annual Veterans Ceremony will take place on Friday November 10 from Noon to 1 PM, beginning at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial located at the State Capitol grounds east campus plaza near the Capitol Skybridge.
• Tacoma War Memorial Park’s Veterans Day Service will begin at 11 AM on the 11th at 6th Avenue and MacArthur Street near the Narrows Bridge.

For further information on these and other events events, see the list prepared by Washington State’s Department of Veterans Affairs or CBS Seattle.

5. Explore Arctic habitat at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium – Retired & Active Duty admitted free!

Retired and Active Duty military members receive free admission to Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium on Veterans Day. November 11 also happens to be Artic Animal Play Day – learn about muskox, polar bears, walruses, and other Arctic animals. Be sure to visit the polar bear exhibit to see what it takes to survive in the cold Arctic environment. It’s harsh up there, and the rapid melting of sea ice polar bears depend upon doesn’t make it any easier.

For more information, connect with us on Facebook or check out our website!

Polar bears are long-time veterans of the Arctic. Learn how they're trying to adapt to their changing environment at the Point Defiance Zoo or nwf.org. Image: Christy Mazrimas-Ott

6. Tour the Museum of Flight with a veteran – Retired & Active Duty admitted free!

Join the Bottom Line Duo – a fabulous bass and cello duo – as well as the City of Tukwila Mayor and Councilmembers, distinguished veterans, and the Civil Air Patrol Overlake Squadron color guard for a Veterans Day ceremony from 11 AM to 2 PM. All U.S. Veterans and Active Duty military members receive free admission to the Museum of Flight on Veterans Day. Afterward, enjoy the miracle of flight by flying a kite in one of the area’s many parks and green spaces or simply enjoying unstructured time outside with a Green Hour or hours!

You remember this from your 8th grade history textbook, right?

Tomorrow, on Veterans Day, I want us to renew the fight for climate and energy action.

I intend the above cartoon as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to full-throttle calls to arms of wars past, but I think it serves a purpose too. (WWI/history/poster buffs will recognize it as a shameless (intentional) rip-off of H.R. Hopps’ 1917 anti-’hun’ classic.)

Propaganda from the World Wars relentlessly monsterized* enemy combatants (and sometimes entire countries, lamentably), and most of it looks pretty harsh now, or at least simplistic. We still get nutty when we get to saber-rattling, but we don’t usually do it quite this overtly nowadays—at least not through state-approved channels.

Our most pressing battle of the moment requires no such subtlety. Global warming is every bit the brute we were variously led to believe the Germans, Russians, and Japanese were, and its destructive power knows no allegiance or point of truce. We cover this a lot, but it’s always worth repeating: the debate is over as to whether global warming is happening or whether we are causing it. We need to cut carbon pollution and develop clean energy now to avert some of the worst consequences in the years to come.

Opponents of climate and energy action often try to paint us—climate hawks, let’s say—as somehow unpatriotic or too wedded to pie-in-the-sky dreams. I doubt they’d level those same charges at the fighting men and women we honor today—many of whom have found themselves quite literally fighting both sides of a war for the future of the U.S. and the planet.

Back in February, the Truman National Security Project put out a report called “Oil Addiction: Fueling Our Enemies” (PDF)

The U.S. sends approximately one billion dollars a day overseas to import oil. While this
figure is staggering by itself, the dangerous implications of our addiction are even more
pronounced when analyzing where our money goes – and whom it helps to support.
…
Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, retired Deputy Chief of Naval Warfare Requirements and Programs, captured the national security dangers of our addiction to oil in 2009 testimony before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: “In 2008, we sent $386 billion overseas
to pay for oil – much of it going to nations that wish us harm. This is an unprecedented and unsustainable transfer of wealth to other nations. It puts us in the untenable position of funding both sides of the conflict and directly undermines our fight against terror.”
…
Our oil addiction drives up prices worldwide, pouring funds into the coffers of foreign regimes that hold anti-American sentiments, harbor terrorists, and otherwise threaten America’s national security. As the Council on Foreign Relations wrote, “major energy consumers—notably the United States, but other countries as well—are finding that their growing dependence on imported energy increases their strategic vulnerability and constrains their ability to pursue a broad range of foreign policy and national security objectives.”

The one billion dollars a day that Americans send overseas on oil floods a global oil market that enriches hostile governments, funds terrorist organizations, and props up repressive regimes.

The Truman National Security Project is part of the Operation Free coalition, a partnership of “leading Veterans and national security organizations who recognize that climate change is a major threat, and support fast, bold action.” It is by no means the only group of veterans now vocally touting the benefits of fighting climate change.

From the more recent report “Tackling Oil Addiction,” (PDF) also by the Truman National Security Project:

Americans depend on their cars for over 90% of all travel. Those cars are fueled almost entirely (94%) by oil. Depending on oil to run our nation makes America vulnerable, while paying enormous sums to those who could do us harm. It is time for America to take control of its energy future, cut dependence on oil, and defund terrorist threats. Increasing fuel economy to 60 miles per gallon by 2025 is a major step to bolster U.S. security.

The U.S. sends nearly $1 billion a day overseas to import oil. This staggering figure has dangerous national security implications. Scaling back the magnitude of our oil addiction will allow America to reduce dependency on oil supplies from countries that don’t share our values. By tackling our oil addiction, we reduce economic waste, environmental damage, political complications, and military involvement.

In April, a Lake Research Group poll for VoteVets.org found that 73 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans supported climate and energy legislation, with 79 percent expressing their belief that ending dependence on foreign oil is an important component of national security (only 14 percent opposed that idea):

“This poll confirms what we always knew was true – veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan know, first-hand, the destructive effect our dependence on oil has on our national security, and on the battlefield,” said Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran and Chairman of VoteVets.org.  “They are well aware of arguments made in favor and against bi-partisan clean energy and climate change legislation, and firmly fall into the group of Americans supportive of passing that comprehensive legislation.  Veterans of the wars we’re fighting want legislation passed now.”

(Poll itself available here)

Also via VoteVets, many veterans joined other ‘non-traditional’ environmental voices this summer and fall to note their opposition to California’s Prop 23, which would have delayed The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 with an eye toward eventually stamping it out completely:

…On the other side is an interesting mix. It’s not just environmentalists who are opposing Prop. 23. Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger was recently joined by Republican and Ronald Reagan’s former Secretary of State George Schultz. Schultz, in announcing his opposition, said, “As a former Secretary of State, I see our dependence on foreign oil as one of the greatest threats to national security, and the Dirty Energy Proposition would undermine efforts to break that dependence.”

Add veterans to that opposition, and on the side of Secretary Schultz. Our dependence on oil means our petro-dollars make their way to the very same extremists we’re fighting. Worldwide demand for oil, driven by U.S. consumption, means that Iran makes $100 million more every single day. And, even the Pentagon has sounded the siren on security implications of global climate change.

Prop 23 ultimately failed despite tremendous polluter influence and financial support, and those veteran voices doubtlessly helped.

Just last month, Operation Free’s Laura Britton wrote an op-ed in the Santa Fe New Mexican that nicely summarizes the deadly cycle of emissions and violence that faces our fighting forces:

Every day, the U.S. pays $1 billion for energy, much of it to hostile regimes that funnel the funds to terrorist groups. And while America’s oil money fuels enemy nations and their extremist allies, the carbon pollution caused by that same dirty fuel leads to the floods, famines and droughts that dissolve already volatile nations into the perfect breeding grounds for terrorist groups.

More and more Americans on the front lines are taking full stock of the wars we fight and realizing that global conflict and outdated energy policies are inextricably linked. As we salute them tomorrow, we should remember this and vow again to wean ourselves off of foreign oil and the conditions it perpetuates.

* (C) Max Greenberg 2010

In the ad, Louisiana resident and veteran Evan Wolf makes the point that the necessity of using the Guard to help clean up efforts takes the military away from critical national security missions.  Indeed, over 11,000 Guardsmen have been sent to the Gulf to help with the clean up. In the ad, Wolf says, “When I signed on with the National Guard, I did it to help protect America from our enemies… Not to clean up an oil company’s mess here in the Gulf of Mexico… But America needs a new mission.  Because whether it’s deep-drilling oil out here, or spending a billion dollars a day on oil from our enemies overseas, our dependence on oil is threatening our national security.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Some of the most prominent examples came in July, when a series of retired military officials addressed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lee F. Gunn, a retired Navy Vice Admiral testified, “Climate change poses a clear and present danger to the United States of America.” And Dennis McGinn, a retired Navy Vice Admiral and member of the Center for Naval Analysis Advisory Board, told the committee, “A business-as-usual approach constitutes a threat to our national security.”

Additionally, a veterans group called Operation Free has been traveling the country. They’re working to draw attention to the threats posed by our energy status quo and the opportunities of clean energy.

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) has a name for those veterans: Attention hogs.

That’s what Inhofe told the New York Times Magazine:

There are a lot of generals who don’t like to be out of the limelight. They’d like to get back in.

In the same interview, Inhofe boasted of his plans to draw attention to himself by serving as a self-appointed “a one-man truth squad” at the climate treaty negotiations in Copenhagen. Inhofe is also the same person who said he was excited to block clean energy & climate legislation because, “I will be able to stand up and say, ‘No, it’s over. Get a life. You lost. I won!’” Does that sound like a man interested in only low-key, civil, reasoned debate?

It sounds more like the man whose dedication to keeping America hooked on polluting fossil fuels earned him Big Oil’s MVP.

What’s even more amazing is that he’s still standing by his comments. Our dependence on foreign oil and climate change threaten America’s interests. The Center for Naval Analysis, comprised of eleven retired generals, found that climate change is a “threat multiplier that required the full attention of the Department of Defense and US government to act before it is too late.”

And a new report from the National Research Council finds that America’s current energy mix has a “hidden cost” of about $120 billion a year – not including the costs of climate change or U.S. military expenditures needed to protect our access to foreign oil.

I wonder if Rep. Metcalfe knows that once the cost of securing our access to foreign oil is factored in, the true cost of gas is $10 a gallon?

The courageous Operation FREE veterans understand the sacrifice that American military families are making every day to protect America. Why should we continue to put our service men and women in harm’s way by not taking action to secure America with clean energy?

Rep. Metcalfe doesn’t speak for all Pennsylvanians. As a native Pennsylvanian, I call these veterans heroes and thank them for their courage speaking up for our energy independence.

Now we need to do our part. Learn more about how you can help keep America clean, strong and secure by passing legislation that will improve our energy efficiency, boost clean energy and cut climate change pollution.

Follow all the latest news on the tour at the Operation Free blog!

Just in from the Washington Post:

Congressional investigators today said they have turned up a 14th forged letter that was sent to a Congressional office criticizing the House’s climate change bill, this one appearing to come from an American Legion post in Rocky Mount, Va.

The letter, sent to the office of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.), asks Perriello to “make sure the Waxman-Markey bill includes provisions to promote American energy independence, while protecting already cash-strapped constituents from increases in electricity prices.” It concludes, “Thank you for listening to concerns of vets in your district.”

Once again, the letter has reportedly come from Bonner & Associates, a Washington lobbying firm working for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. The Washington Post hasn’t yet been able to confirm the forgery directly with the Rocky Mount American Legion Post.

If you think you’ve been a victim of similar forged letters or any other polluter deception, call our Polluter Fraud Citizens Tipline at 866-363-4648. You can also email us at tips@polluterfraud.com.

Today the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on Climate Change and National Security. Former Republican Senator and Secretary of the Navy John Warner spoke along with Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn USN (Ret.) of the Center for Naval Analysis Military Advisory Board and Jon Powers with the Truman National Security Project.

I agree with Senator Warner’s statement that America’s military policy, energy policy and climate policy are interrelated and that, as he quotes Senator Kerry: “Climate change injects a major new source of chaos, tension and human insecurity into an already volatile world.”

As a parent and a grandparent like Senator Warner, I applaud Senator Warner’s true statesman like approach to the climate security issue. By adding his voice and perspective to this discussion he’s helping us all leave a safer world for the next generation. National Wildlife Federation has selected Senator Warner as our Conservationist of the Year in 2009.