Climate group, vets defend Graham in S.C.

Dozens of military veterans and an environmental group that explores the national security dimensions of global warming are running an ad in several South Carolina newspapers that defends Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) work on climate change.

Graham has come under fire from conservatives at home for working on a climate and energy bill that would impose limits on greenhouse gas emissions – it is among the reasons that two county Republican parties have censured him in recent months.

But the plan also aims to boost production of various domestic energy sources, and that’s the main focus of ads slated to run Thursday in four newspapers – the Charleston Post and Courier, The State, The Greenville News and Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

“As U.S. military veterans, we share Senator Lindsey Graham's strong belief that our national security depends on more than troops and arms. America must also reduce its dangerous dependence on foreign oil and develop its own alternative energy sources,” states the ad.

The ad is paid for by the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate and is signed by 54 South Carolina vets.

“That's why our military branches are moving swiftly to improve their energy efficiency and deploy clean energy technologies. And it's why Senator Graham is working to forge a bipartisan plan that moves our country toward energy independence,” it continues. The ad also notes that the Defense Department believes climate change presents security risks.