U.S. Military’s ‘Green’ Tools

Many of the military’s ‘green’ tools go unseen

September 5, 2011 - The most celebrated environmental project completed by the military in Hampton Roads also is barely visible. Just some big pipes in a bland old warehouse.

The rest of this $33 million engineering creation is underground, a 10-mile loop buried beneath Dam Neck Annex to Oceana Naval Air Station, just a short stroll from the Atlantic Ocean.

Andrew Porter, deputy public works officer at Dam Neck and Oceana – the two bases are merged under a joint command – arrives in an electric-powered cart on a bright morning to explain his “baby,” as he calls the project.

He ticks off statistics without notes, memorized from numerous presentations to military officers and others interested in replicating its clean-energy performance and environmental benefits: $2.8 million in energy savings a year, 40 percent cut in energy consumption, 14 percent reduction in water usage, 93 percent less ammonia air emissions, 99 percent less lead emissions.

And on and on. read more>>>