Sorry, but there are always trade-offs
David Freddoso
Video Embed
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro decided to use his recent trip to the Bahamas to deliver a short lecture on climate change.
“As the Secretary of the Navy, I can tell you that I have made climate one of my top priorities since the first day I came into office,” Del Toro said in remarks at the University of the Bahamas on March 1. “The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps team has been working on climate and energy security for a long time, and we are accelerating and broadening those efforts.” …”There is not a trade-off between addressing climate security and our core mission of being the most capable and ready Navy-Marine Corps team,” Del Toro said. “The exact opposite is true. Embracing climate-focused technologies and adopting a climate-informed posture strengthens our capability to stand by our partners and allies.”
He also said that he views climate change as an “all hands on deck” problem. (How droll, Mr. Secretary.)
BIDEN’S RIDICULOUSLY FAKE GAY MARRIAGE ‘EPIPHANY’
I can imagine that there are some uses of climate-friendly technology that genuinely help the cause of national defense. For example, if your vehicle or equipment can run on solar while you’re fighting in the desert, or even if it can just run on more than one type of fuel, then you have just made your logistics simpler. And that’s great — but even in that case, there are still trade-offs.
For example, you still have to decide whether the extra weight (if any) and expense of your climate-friendly technology is worth the benefit. Whatever you spend on a climate-friendly technology, you could have instead spent on something else that might neutralize more enemy combatants or otherwise advance the goal of your mission. So it’s very important to weigh the trade-offs in such cases. And if you work for the military, you need to weigh them in the light not of saving the planet but of the military’s ultimate goal of fighting and winning wars.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
To say there are no trade-offs between these two goods is simply ridiculous. There are always trade-offs when policy is made. Executive branch officials like Del Toro are appointed specifically for their ability to make judgments about those trade-offs. Hopefully, he has the Navy’s real goals at the center of his mind when he makes them, not ideological side-quests about green energy, diversity, or equity.