Publications
Energy and national security
Karas, Thomas H.; Karas, Thomas H.
On May 19 and 20, 2003, thirty-some members of Sandia staff and management met to discuss the long-term connections between energy and national security. Three broad security topics were explored: I. Global and U.S. economic dependence on oil (and gas); II. Potential security implications of global climate change; and III. Vulnerabilities of the U.S. domestic energy infrastructure. This report, rather than being a transcript of the workshop, represents a synthesis of background information used in the workshop, ideas that emerged in the discussions, and ex post facto analysis of the discussions. Each of the three subjects discussed at this workshop has significant U.S. national security implications. Each has substantial technology components. Each appears a legitimate area of concern for a national security laboratory with relevant technology capabilities. For the laboratory to play a meaningful role in contributing to solutions to national problems such as these, it needs to understand the political, economic, and social environments in which it expects its work to be accepted and used. In addition, it should be noted that the problems of oil dependency and climate change are not amenable to solution by the policies of any one nation--even the one that is currently the largest single energy consumer. Therefore, views, concerns, policies, and plans of other countries will do much to determine which solutions might work and which might not.