Dartmouth Events

Environmental security posits that there are human-induced changes to the Earth’s environment of such a magnitude that they represent threats to the peace and security of the world. Stated simply, the environmental changes have the potential to deny basic human needs to billions of people. Climate change, which will be discussed, is the environmental security threat receiving much notoriety at the moment, but there are other factors that threaten peace in the world. This lecture will examine the path that leads to environmental issues becoming security and defense concerns. It will apply case studies of Afghanistan, the Nile basin, and the Tibetan Plateau to illustrate the concepts of environmental security.

• Peace is more than the absence of conflict, but the existence of stable human conditions that provide for basic human dignity.
• Billions are at risk from the impacts of climate change and other environmental security threats.
• The costs of cleaning up an environmental disaster are always more than preventing it.

Dr. W. Chris King serves as the Chief Academic Officer of the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff. Dr. King earned his Ph.D. in environmental engineering at the University of Tennessee in 1988. Dr. King has authored two books, and 15 book chapters with his most recent manuscript being, Understanding International Environmental Security: A Strategic Military Perspective. He has published more than 30 journal articles and scientific reports, and lectured at more than 50 professional conferences, including the technical sessions of the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009.

Dr. King won both the American Academy of Environmental Engineering Honor Award in 1992 for his work on the Kuwait health risk assessment and the Army Science Award for outstanding research for his work in geophysical remote sensing. In 2000, he completed his M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies at the Naval War College. Dr. King is a licensed professional engineer and is board certified by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers with a specialty in hazardous waste management. He is a founding member of the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change.  He retired from active duty after 34 years of commissioned service at the rank of Brigadier General.