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US Military Saves Lives by Being Energy Efficient
Green Technology Featured Articles
June 27, 2013

US Military Saves Lives by Being Energy Efficient

By Hannah Bond
TMCnet Contributing Writer

When people think of the benefits of being more energy efficient, they generally think about saving the environment or spending less money on fuel and electricity. However, for the U.S. military, the potential benefits of using less energy are far more substantial: in addition to the cost savings, the military could save lives.


According to an article from Metropolis Magazine, one in eight casualties that occurred in the Iraq War happened during a fuel delivery. This number seems astoundingly high, but less so when you consider the sheer amount of deliveries that had to be made. After all, the Department of Defense is the largest single user of liquid fuel anywhere in the world.

To combat this huge issue, the Pentagon released its Operational Energy Strategy in 2011, which presented the goal of 25-percent renewable energy use by 2025. One of the earliest efforts made to reduce the military’s energy use after this initiative was released was the introduction of more fuel efficient combat vehicles, along with the development of some that run on alternative fuel sources.

Recently, the Pentagon has come up with another strategy to reduce fuel consumption by the military. This innovative strategy involves partnering with research, design, and technical services firm MKThink on a project named Renewable Energy Architecture for Cultural and Human Environments (REACHE).

REACHE essentially analyzes what changes can be made to reduce fuel use in military members’ everyday lives on base. This is a more difficult problem than it sounds; while it’s easy to simply tell people to use less electricity, if they can’t integrate that decision into their lifestyles, they will soon revert to their old ways.

REACHE’s focus has been on how to house the most marines comfortably while using less energy. By varying the amount of marines living in a given billet, along with the amount of AC vents and ventilation flaps in it, researchers are trying to determine the best way to house more marines in fewer billets with lesser energy usage.

Whether the programs being put into place are as seemingly small as a recycling program or as large as developing new military vehicles, anything that can save fuel for the military has the potential to save lives along the way.




Edited by Alisen Downey


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