Pentagon adopts green energy strategy

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The use of water and fossil fuels by the U.S. Defense Department will decline by more than 20 percent in 10 years, the agency announced in Washington.

U.S. President Barack Obama, in an executive order signed in October, called on federal agencies to reduce use of water and fossil fuels and set targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

The Pentagon announced it was outlining plans to cut water and fossil fuel consumption by more than 20 percent in the next decade.

The Pentagon said its green-energy plan is in line with the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, which for the first time linked climate change and energy to the department's strategies.

Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said moving toward a greener military would offer more flexibility to U.S. soldiers.

"Freeing warfighters from the tether of fuel will significantly improve our mission effectiveness, as will reducing our installations' dependence on costly fossil fuels and a potentially fragile power grid," he said in a statement.

Apart from consumption targets, the Defense Department's plans call for more telecommuting and less air travel for Pentagon employees.

The White House said the federal government spent more than $24.5 billion on electricity and fuel in 2008, making it the largest energy consumer in the United States.