Generals Brent Scowcroft and Wesley Clark join young veterans in call for bold action on clean energy and climate change to end America’s dependence on foreign oil and strengthen our national security

Washington, D.C..– As the nation prepares to celebrate Veterans Day and honor the brave men and women who serve in our Armed Forces, the Alliance for Climate Protection’s Repower America campaign today released a new television ad featuring veterans and national security leaders in their own voices calling for bold action now on clean energy and climate change to strengthen America’s national security. The ad, called “Voices – Veterans,” will run on national cable starting on Veteran’s Day. The new spot can be viewed at www.repoweramerica.org.

“Voices – Veterans” features young Iraq War veterans alongside respected military and national security leaders such as General Brent Scowcroft and General Wesley Clark making the urgent call for action now on clean energy and climate change so that we can end America’s dependence on foreign oil and strengthen our national security. General Scowcroft, U.S. National Security Advisor under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush and a retired Lieutenant General in the U.S. Air Force, states in the ad that “climate change threatens our national security,” while Terron Sims, II, a U.S. Army Veteran who served in Iraq says, “Stop sending our dollars overseas to be used against us.” General Wesley Clark, a 34-year U.S. Army veteran who served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, concludes the ad stating, “We need to repower and there is no better time to do it than right now.”

“As some of our nation’s most respected military leaders have made clear, global climate change, fueled by our harmful dependence on foreign oil, puts our men and women serving overseas and our entire nation at risk,” said Maggie L. Fox, President and CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection. “By repowering America with clean energy, we can stop sending our hard-earned money overseas for foreign oil, invest it here to get our economy moving again, and help solve the climate crisis.”

This new TV ad is a continuation of the groundbreaking multimedia campaign launched by Repower America last week to demonstrate broad national consensus – from veterans, faith leaders, the business community, conservationists and more – for bold action on clean energy and climate. The new Repower effort, supported by an integrated online, field and advertising campaign, centers around a virtual Repower Wall, where thousands of people have already uploaded messages of strong support for action to create clean energy jobs, safeguard America’s economic and national security future, and solve the climate crisis. The Repower Wall may be accessed at www.repoweramerica.org/wall.

Scores of veterans, national security leaders, and organizations such as VoteVets, the Truman National Security Project and Operation Free have already posted to the Repower Wall, including:

Brigadier General Steve Cheney, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.): “I believe that global warming and climate change is a national security issue. With my background as a retired military officer, I’ve seen what the climate can do to our national interests and our national security.”

• Watch General Cheney’s full Repower Wall post: http://www.repoweramerica.org/wall/#/view/3788

Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, U.S. Army (Ret.): “We need to really face up to climate change. … Climate change deeply affects the risk of war. There is a direct correlation between climate change left unchecked and unregulated and the likelihood of war. And not just war that affects other countries, wars that affect us – that affect our daughters and our sons, whether they’re in uniform or not – we will all be affected if we don’t get a handle on climate change.”

• Watch General Kennedy’s full Repower Wall post: http://www.repoweramerica.org/wall/#/view/3787

Brendan Flynn, Veteran from Meadville, PA: “I am really concerned about pushing a strong clean energy bill because it’s America’s chance to take back control and reduce our dependence on oil and fossil fuels, much of which comes from outside the country. If we can produce energy here at home that can strengthen our national security and also create jobs here in Northeastern Ohio, Northwestern Pennsylvania, and put people back to work and at the same time mitigate the effects of climate disruption that’s already causing national security headaches for us – that’s something the CIA … the Defense Department all are in agreement about. So if we can all do that – if we can protect American troops and put Americans back to work here at home, I think it’s something the United States Senate needs to do …”

• Watch Brendan’s full Repower Wall post: http://www.repoweramerica.org/wall/#/view/2582

Nick, Veteran from Tallahassee, FL: “Prior to my time in Iraq, I gave no thought to how our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels directly impacts our military and national security. But now after my tour and experiences, I know they are directly related and that we cannot continue the same energy policies of the past.”

• Read Nick’s Repower Wall post: http://www.repoweramerica.org/wall/#/view/21799

Tim, Veteran from St. Louis, MO: “As a veteran, I support clean American energy because I know our reliance on dirty energy sources threatens our national security.”

• Read Tim’s Repower Wall post: http://www.repoweramerica.org/wall/#/view/21437

Already, more than 20,000 individuals have added their faces and voices to the Repower Wall, and more than 40 leading corporations and non-governmental organizations have contributed their logos to the effort – including companies like Nike, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Staples, eBay and Exelon, as well as organizations such as the United Steel Workers, National Farmers Union, Trout Unlimited, Republicans for Environmental Protection and the American Nurses Association.

Script: “Voices – Veterans” (TV-:30)
Ken Nagel, U.S. Navy Veteran: Why join the fight to repower America with clean energy?
General Brent Scowcroft: Because climate change threatens our national security.
Ambassador Wendy R. Sherman: It’s crucial that America become energy independent.
Jackie Rodgers, Jr., U.S. Navy Veteran: I saw first-hand how America’s dependence on foreign oil threatens our national security.
Terron Sims, II, U.S. Army Veteran: Stop sending our dollars overseas to be used against us.
Jonathan Powers, U.S. Army Veteran: America must reestablish itself as a country that leads by example.
General Wesley Clark: We need to repower and there is no better time to do it than right now.

About the Alliance for Climate Protection’s Repower America campaign:

The Alliance for Climate Protection launched the Repower America campaign to galvanize the American public around a bold new clean energy plan and a revitalized national energy infrastructure that will jumpstart our economy and create millions of jobs; help end our dependence on foreign oil; reward innovation and job creation, not polluters; and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the threat of climate change. For more information, visit www.repoweramerica.org.