Sustainability and National Security

bility. These kinds of effects can spill into the interna-
tional arena and with dramatic security consequences.
Other nations are often pulled into the ensuing chaos,
for disaster relief, dealing with refugees, or respond-
ing to new conflicts generated by these conditions.
The more scientists learn about the movement of
pollutants and the intricacies of ecological balance, the
clearer it is that each nation is at the mercy of one an-
other’s actions. Human life depends upon an intercon-
nected web of life across the entire planet. Pollution
and disease travel. Human survival depends upon
the health of an interlocking set of natural systems,
and protecting the environment ultimately requires
international cooperation and coordinated action.
Climate change is the most widely recognized agent
for global environmental crises, but is not the only en-
vironmental threat with potentially grave, large-scale
consequences for nations and regions. Overpopula-
tion, for example, is another factor related to environ-
mental health that undermines sustainability.
Since the purpose and legitimacy of government
depends upon its ability to safeguard its people, and
security is intimately bound to ecological health, it fol-
lows that the pursuit of sustainability is a key purpose
of government. Environmental resources and environ-
mental health are directly connected to national inter-
ests, and thereby to national security. “Environmen-
tal security” refers to environmental and ecological
elements affecting national security. It looks beyond
a narrow focus on military power and highlights the
environmental components of strength and the eco-
logical assumptions and consequences of security pol-
icies. Practices that deplete or contaminate resources
mortgage future security.