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US navy veterans urge Congress to fund 'critical' green fleet programme
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/24/us-navy-green-fleet-veterans
The great green fleet during a demonstration in a training exercise in the Pacific. Photograph: Ryan Mayes / US navy/EPA
Hundreds of military veterans joined the fight to keep the US navy's "green fleet" afloat on Tuesday, calling on the White House and Congress to fund military research on alternative fuels.
A letter, signed by about 380 retired generals, admirals and other military officials, urges Congress to drop plans to bar the navy from research on biofuels, or from buying fuels which cost more than traditional diesel or jet fuel.
Republicans in Congress are demanding the navy scrap its research on biofuels, arguing the fuels are prohibitively expensive, and a diversion from more urgent security needs.
The veterans, pushing back, said such research was critical to national security. "As a country, we must support efforts inside and outside the department of defence to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, deploy clean energy technology and move our nation toward energy independence," the letter said.
