How the Military in Texas is Going Green
Photo by TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images
Soldiers at an event at Fort Hood in Killeeen, Texas.
While some private solar companies are making headlines for their spectacular failures, and fracking has led to an extended stay for fossil fuels, is it too soon to write off renewables?
Maybe not. For one thing, the military is investing in green projects. Big Time.
As Kate Galbraith reports today for the Texas Tribune and New York Times, two major bases in Texas are part of a bigger effort by the military to be less dependent on fossil fuels and reduce waste.
Galbraith writes:
“Solar panels are popping up across Fort Bliss, which is the nation’s largest army post by physical size, covering an area slightly larger than Rhode Island. The panels are part of the base’s effort to cut its net energy and water usage, reduce waste and thus demonstrate self-sufficiency, a concept that can have a large impact on operations abroad. The military refers to it as “net zero,” and bases like Fort Bliss and Fort Hood have embraced it, but high upfront costs pose challenges.
In Central Texas, Fort Hood has a goal of “net zero” waste by 2020. The base, second to Fort Bragg in total number of soldiers, will claim success if about 90 percent of its trash avoids a landfill, according to Brian Dosa, Fort Hood’s director of public works. Right now, more than half goes into the base’s landfill.”
