Annotated Table of Contents Threat Multiplier Climate, Military Leadership, and the Fight for Global Security By Sherri Goodman
Introduction Threat Multiplier takes readers onto the battlefield and inside the Pentagon to show how the US military is confronting the biggest security risk in global history: climate change. Threat Multiplier carries us along the military’s environment and climate journey, as today they recognize that a warming world exacerbates every threat—from hurricanes and forest fires to terrorism and power plays by Russia and China. The Pentagon now considers climate in war games, disaster relief planning, international diplomacy, and even the design of its own bases. No one knows the stakes better than Sherri Goodman, the nation’s first Deputy Undersecretary of Defense (Environmental Security). In Threat Multiplier, she offers a front row seat to the military’s fight for global security, a tale that is as hopeful as it is harrowing. Making every fragile state more vulnerable and every conflict more dangerous, climate change is a “threat multiplier,” a phrase coined by the author in 2007. Actions by the US military have had long-lasting health and environmental consequences both at home and abroad, yet, today, environmental stewardship is integral to the US military’s activities. The introduction provides an overview of the author’s unique background and inspiration for writing the book, as well as outlines the upcoming chapters, setting the tone for how to look at climate change from a security lens.
Chapter 1. From Weapons to Waste As the Cold War draws to a close and environmental concerns are on the rise, the 1980s provided the foundation for the military’s environmental awakening. This chapter sets the stage for the book, telling the story of how the US went from producing nuclear weapons