To the editor:
Representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Security Agency participate in preparing an annual report entitled Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community.
The author of the report and the director of U.S. National Intelligence is Daniel R. Coats, who was a Republican senator from Indiana and a former U.S. ambassador.
The most recent report is was published in January of 2019 and is available online: https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/2019-ATA-SFR—SSCI.pdf
Page 23 is about “Environment and Climate Change.” The report predicts extreme weather, higher temperatures, droughts, floods, wildfires, storms, sea level rise, soil degradation, and ocean acidification. These events are described as threats to infrastructure, health, and water and food security. Damage to ecosystems and habitats will undermine the economic benefits they provide.
It is clear from this report that climate change threatens U.S. national security. It also threatens today’s children and those who might be born in the future. Climate justice is a life issue and a social justice issue.
Bruce Krawisz, M.D., Marshfield