US soldiers limit carbon footprints in ‘war games’

PUERTO PRINCESA City—An American soldier made sure the plastic basins underneath the armored personnel carriers parked inside the sprawling Western Command Headquarters complex in the heart of this city were properly placed to catch drip oil and prevent it from seeping into the ground.

The city’s environment control and carbon-neutral status have rubbed off on more than 200 American troops currently taking part in the joint US-Philippines military exercise Balikatan 2012 as they have been given strict instructions to minimize their carbon footprints.

“We make sure to use local resources when available instead of importing all materials, contract local services, recycle paper, aluminum, plastic, certain fuels and other renewable resources,” US Marine Captain Staci Reidinger, a public affairs director at the Marine’s Air Station Yuma back in Arizona, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer via e-mail over the weekend.

Reidinger said US planners have met with local officials and government environmental specialists to be briefed on current environmental protection policies and procedures and incorporated US military environmental protection standards in conducting the joint military exercises.

Carbon neutral

“From the engineering projects to the field training evolutions, each functional area has a risk mitigation plan that guides US operational decisions,” Reidinger said.

Puerto Princesa City received early this year its recognition from the Manila Observatory based at the Ateneo de Manila University as the first “carbon neutral” city in the county. This means its air is essentially clean of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide, as a result of the city’s strong pro-environment programs and high forest cover at nearly 65 percent.

In a media briefing following the arrival of US troops here on the last week of March, US officials said they were aware of the emphasis placed by the local government and the community in general on environmental issues.

Unique beauty

“We are conscious of the unique beauty of Palawan,” Reidinger said, explaining that US specialists have taken extensive measures to plan the exercise with the intention of limiting its carbon footprints.

“We are mitigating our overall carbon footprint, contracting our fuel from the local economy, rather than importing fuel. We have tried to use as much local expertise and materials as possible in an effort to enhance the economy here in Palawan,” Reidinger said.

Currently on its second week, the joint exercises have so far centered on civic action projects. Ten school buildings in various outlying villages are being targeted for completion before the second part of the exercise involving amphibious military maneuvers, set from April 17 to 27, takes on the final phase of the one-month joint exercise.