A panel of distinguished environmental experts from the Department of Defense met yesterday at the National Press Club to address their efforts to comply with an Obama Administration directive to "green" the federal government.

Executive Order 13514, signed by President Obama, sets numerous green requirements for the federal government, including setting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets; increasing energy efficiency; reducing fleet petroleum consumption; water conservation; waste reduction; supporting sustainable communities; and leveraging the governments purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies.

Here's a quick recap of the event:

"Army Green, Army Strong"

Addison "Tad" Davis highlighted the Army's new environmental campaign, "Army Green, Army Strong." According to Davis, the Army is "building, buying and going green" and with $50 billion in new construction they are positioned to reach 30% energy effectiveness.

Navy's Great Green Fleet

Bryon Paez from the Navy's Energy Office spoke about the ambitious environmental agenda of Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. Among the environmental goals the Navy is pursuing at full speed ahead: 1) holding industry contractually accountable for meeting energy targets and system efficiency requirements, 2) sailing a Great Green Fleet composed of nuclear ships, surface combatants equipped with hybrid electric alternative power systems running biofuel, and aircraft flying only biofuels by 2016, 3) reducing petroleum use by 50 percent by 2015, 4) producing at least half of shore-based energy requirements on Navy installations from alternative sources by 2020, and 5) ensuring half of the Navy's total energy consumption for ships, aircraft, tanks, vehicles, and shore installations will come from alternative sources by 2020.

Alternative Fuels

Mike McGehee of the Air Force focused on the Department's work on alternative fuels. The Air Force has spent $54 million on the testing and certification of biomass and synthetic fuels for their over 5,000 airframes, with a goal to cost-competitively purchase 50% of domestic aviation fuel via "greener" alternative fuel blend by 2016.

Vice Admiral Alan Thompson, director of the Defense Logistics Agency, DoD's largest logistics combat support agency, chimed in stating that DLA is working with the services on alternative fuels and saw DoD as a "critical enabler to move DoD forward." He also reflected on a recent visit to Iraq where his organization is key to the drawdown of U.S. military activity. Adm. Thompson said that  through their environmental stewardship they are returning occupied areas "much better than found."

An "Idea"

The keynote speaker, Dr. Dorothy Robyn, the deputy undersecretary of defense for installations & environment, provided the most insightful vision for DoD's direction and did not hold back any punches. She said that, while other cabinet level agencies could go green through low-hanging environmental fruit like low flow water fixtures, "what makes DoD unique, these green efforts are not only consistent but required for the mission."

She gave several examples where DoD was not only a good steward protecting federal lands but also allows the military to carry out their training missions without population encroachment, saying "it's in the Department's interest to do this."

But her most astute remarks revolved around her idea, still in its infancy, to leverage the environmental technologies developed from agencies like the Department of Energy and academia and using the DoD's non-homogeneous facilities to be a test bed for environmental solutions, which can be transfer to national solutions.