In war zones without "traditional" front lines, supplies are more susceptible. While Bank of America and Timberland are giving $3000 to each employee who buys a hybrid (Google is giving $5000), the military is similarly looking for ways to decrease dependency fuel supplies.
At the ONR-NDIA conference in DC a few weeks ago, one of the themes was different energy sources. Besides trying to move away from oil for ships (fears of Peak Oil notwithstanding), moving away from traditional fuels from vehicles and generators was frequently heard. Consider this:
On July 25, 2006 Al-Anbar commander and U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer submitted [a] request pointing to the hazards inherent in American supply lines, and noted that the up to many of the supply convoys on Iraq’s roads (up to 70%, by some studies) are carrying fuel. Much of that fuel isn’t even for vehicles – it’s for diesel generators used to generate power at US bases et. al. In response, the document requests alternative energy solutions to power US forward operating bases… and the US military looks like it will act on the request.
Not only is energy conservation good for the environment, it would keep more troops (and private security contractors, contracted truck drivers, etc) out of harm’s way.
