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U.S. Navy Going Full Green Ahead

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The Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187), left, delivers a 50-50 blend of advanced biofuels and traditional petroleum-based fuel to the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) during the Great Green Fleet demonstration portion of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012 exercise. July 18, 2012. (MC3 Ryan Mayes/U.S. Navy)
The Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187), left, delivers a 50-50 blend of advanced biofuels and traditional petroleum-based fuel to the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) during the Great Green Fleet demonstration portion of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2012 exercise. July 18, 2012. (MC3 Ryan Mayes/U.S. Navy)

The U.S. military burns about 12 million gallons of oil every day, but the Navy is trying to reduce that number.

It's experimenting with alternative fuels, with the goal of a permanent Green Fleet deployment by 2016.

Not everyone is on board with this. Senator John McCain says it's too expensive and that adopting a "green agenda for national defense, of course, is a terrible misplacement of priorities."

But the Navy is steaming ahead.

Julia Whitty, environmental correspondent for Mother Jones magazine, saw the Green Fleet in action last summer. She wrote about it in a piece called "My Heart-Stopping Ride Aboard the Navy's Great Green Fleet."

In this video, she talks about the experience of landing on an aircraft carrier in a plane fueled with a 50-50 blend of biofuel and aviation fuel:

Do you support the Navy's experiments with alternative fuels? Join the debate on our Facebook page or let us know in the comments.

Guest:

This segment aired on March 4, 2013.

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