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National Security Impacts of Climate Change

Thursday, April 12 at 2:00 pm

Speaking in Maine takes us next to the University of Southern Maine for a panel discussion on “National Security Impacts of Climate Change.”

Climate change threatens America’s national security as well as communities around the world. Climate change effects like extreme weather, food and water scarcity, and sea-level rise can lead to political instability and even war. The U.S. military, intelligence community, and nations around the world are taking these threats seriously. 

This event will bring together Maine’s U.S. Senator Angus King, who serves on both the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees; Roger Sorkin, Executive Director and Producer of the American Resilience Project; and military and foreign policy experts from the American Security Project, including Lieutenant General John Castellaw, USMC (Ret.). They will discuss how climate change will impact America’s national security and what measures Congress and the Defense Department will need to take to address these concerns.

Panel:
Senator Angus King
In January 2013, Angus King was sworn in as Maine’s first Independent United States Senator.   A strong believer in the need for greater bipartisan dialogue and relationship building, Senator King is proud to join the long line of thoughtful, independent leaders from the State of Maine, and he works hard every day to bring Republicans and Democrats together to find common-sense solutions for Maine and America. He is a proven consensus-builder who “calls ‘em like he sees ‘em”, putting civility and respect ahead of political ideology.

Senator King is a member of the Armed Services Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on the Budget, and the Committee on Rules and Administration. He has made it a priority not to miss Committee hearings, earning him praise from his colleagues and the reputation as a workhorse in the Senate. Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) once called Senator King “one of the most serious and hard-working members” of the Committee.

In his time in the Senate, Senator King has worked to strengthen America’s national security, conducted critical oversight of the nation’s Intelligence Community, supported common-sense budget priorities that promote prosperity and reduce the national debt, fought the national opioid and heroin epidemic, coordinated efforts to revitalize Maine’s forest economy, advocated for policies that contribute to cleaner, cheaper energy and mitigate climate change, railed against the corrosive effect of unchecked money in politics, fought to improve access to health care, worked to strengthen the government’s support of veterans, and promoted increased access to critical community resources like rural broadband.

Lieutenant General John G. Castellaw
United States Marine Corps (Retired)
John Castellaw is a member of the Center for Climate and Security’s Advisory Board. He is also the president of the Crockett Policy Institute (CPI) a non-partisan policy and research organization chartered in Tennessee.

Castellaw served in the Marines for 36 years holding several operational commands and flying more than two dozen different aircraft.  His duties included service with the UN during the Siege of Sarajevo, command of a U.S. joint force in a multi-national security and stability operation in East Timor, and as the chief of staff for the U.S. Central Command during the Iraq War.  Other service included assignments ashore and afloat in Africa, Europe, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

His last tours on active duty were in the Pentagon where he first oversaw Marine Aviation and then the Marine Corps budget creation and execution.

After the Marine Corps, he returned to Crockett County, Tennessee and to the family farm from where he remains involved in national security issues.  He is on the National Security Advisory Council of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, the board of the American Security Project, and is a teaching fellow in the College of Business and Global Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Martin.

In addition to managing his family farm, he is board member of the Bank of Crockett, works with economic development organizations, and advises corporations on management and strategic planning.  Castellaw recently completed his final term as the National Commander of the Marine Corps Aviation Association.

Roger Sorkin
Executive Director & Producer
Roger Sorkin is an award-winning producer, writer and director specializing in the nexus between environment, energy and national security. He has been creating films and other media for a variety of NGO, government and nonprofit clients for over two decades. Roger is an alumnus of the U.S. Army War College’s National Security Seminar and a fellow with the Truman National Security Project, where he also serves as a surrogate speaker for their Operation Free campaign.

He has served as a communications advisor to the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence, as a delegate to the Electric Infrastructure Security Council, and he currently serves on the Climate and Security Working Group at the Center for Climate and Security. Roger began his career in broadcasting as the founding producer of a daily public affairs radio program in 1993, and then received a master of communication from Stanford University with a focus in documentary film before moving to Washington, DC, where he worked as a freelance writer, producer and editor for a variety of production companies before starting his own.

Sources:  nrcm.org, wacmaine.org, king.senate.gov, climateandsecurity.orgamresproject.org

Music by Our Alarm Clock