Former Mayor, Marine and “Green Republican” Says “Less Oil or More Caskets”

Worldview’s Jerome McDonnell meets former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard
Worldview's Jerome McDonnell meets former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard Julian Hayda / WBEZ
Worldview’s Jerome McDonnell meets former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard
Worldview's Jerome McDonnell meets former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard Julian Hayda / WBEZ

Former Mayor, Marine and “Green Republican” Says “Less Oil or More Caskets”

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Conventionally, it’s believed the United States will not make significant moves to counter the effects of climate change until conservative voters pressure their leaders to do so. One successful argument by sympathetic Republican and conservative policy makers has been that failure to act on climate change will have devastating national security and economic consequences. Greg Ballard is the former two-term mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana. He was elected, in part, on an agenda to make Indianapolis “the most sustainable city in the Midwest.” Ballard believes encouraging sustainability is “common sense.” In his new book Less Oil or More Caskets: The National Security Argument for Moving Away From Oil Ballard “profiles the history of US troops in the Middle East…and the impact the oil industry has had on our international politics.” He argues that if we move away from fossil fuel, and toward renewable energy, “[t]his would preclude the United States from having to send troops overseas to protect the supply of oil for the entire world, saving both dollars and lives.” We’ll ask Ballard why he likes being called a “Green Republican.