PETE ALTMAN
Climate campaign director in NRDC's Washington office

U.S. military veterans and environmentalists don't seem like natural political allies. When did you realize there was common ground?
A couple of years ago, NRDC was looking to interview people who had found jobs in clean energy industries for one of our Web sites, cleanenergystories.org. As I was reading some of the vets' stories, I realized how much pride they take in the fact that what they are doing now -- helping to build a clean energy economy -- is good for national security as well as the environment. They know that they are still serving this country, even after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

How should we work together?
Fundamentally, we can help by making sure their voices are heard. We work to create opportunities to connect them with policy makers and to publicize their unique points of view. This is important because these veterans can reach very different audiences, some that we never could. A clean energy economy can help working Americans on many levels -- jobs and national security, for starters -- but people get stuck when they hear "environmentalist" and don't hear the message. When a veteran gets up and says we need to move forward with a clean energy and climate bill instead of giving money to groups and countries that support terrorism, that gets people's attention. 

Are your joint efforts paying off?
National security experts, veterans groups, and environmentalists increasingly agree on the solution: putting a price on carbon to reduce our reliance on foreign oil. My goal is for us to work together to raise these issues, first, to help pass climate legislation and, then, during the midterm elections.

For more about debates among environmentalists on the siting of renewable energy projects, For more about debates among environmentalists on the siting of renewable energy projects, visit onearth.org/article/waldqa