US News & World Report just did an article on DOD Energy that begins by pointing to my favorite doc, the DSB Task Force on Energy 2008 report: It was a blunt message that came a little more than a year ago from an influential Pentagon task force. Charged with looking into the strategy for saving energy, the Defense Science Board concluded that the DOD didn't seem to have one. The report further noted that the department was rather too nonchalant about its "unnecessarily high, and growing" fuel use.
Can't fault that for a start. But then the magazine proceeds to cite numerous energy demand reduction actions of the Army and Air Force while ignoring the Navy. The author claims, incorrectly, that the Air Force and Army's energy use are greater than the Navy's ... and well, unless I'm very much mistaken, they're wrong (USAF uses 57%, USN 34% and USA 9% of the DOD total). And while we're at it, let's zoom in a little closer with a breakdown on Navy fuel use in 2008:
Consumption
Shore = 25%
Sea = 75%
Sources
Renewable = 1%
Nuclear = 16%
Electricity, Nat gas & other = 26%
Petroleum = 57%
No doubt about it: the Navy has a long way to go from organizational and energy strategy perspectives. Maybe much further than the other services. But a follow-up post will describe some of the Navy's recent demand reduction actions and maybe get it some media respect re: energy.
Super Hornet launch photo: Wikimedia Commons
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