HUNTINGTON -- A Huntington native and Iraq War veteran is part of a group that is trying to raise awareness about climate change and how it could pose a threat to national security.

Jon Gensler was one of five veterans who stopped at VFW Post 9738 in Guyandotte on Monday to spread the message of Operation Free, which is sending a delegation of veterans to the United Nations Climate Change Conference. The conference runs today through Dec. 18 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Operation Free is a coalition of veterans and national security groups that have come together to combat climate change and the country's dependence on foreign oil.

Gensler is a Huntington East High School and West Point graduate who now is studying for master's degrees in energy policy at both Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. When Gensler left the Army in 2005, he said he became increasingly aware of the threats that climate change poses to national security.

"These threats really stem out of two different rationales," he said. "The first is that our reliance on fossil fuels, especially imported oil, directly funds our enemies in the war on terrorism.

"The second rationale is that climate change and the natural disasters it will cause is only going to open up holes for terrorists to gain power. The United States is the one who will be called upon to address these challenges."

Gensler also addressed statements from coal industry executives who have called climate change a hoax and who say deviating from coal would wreak havoc with West Virginia's economy.

"Coal's been the economic driver in every decade since the formation of this state, but our reliance on it also has prevented the diversification of our economy into other sectors," he said. "Coal's not going to last forever. What's going to be around when all the coal operators close up shop and leave? We have to plan for that eventuality and build industries that are going to last another 150 years."

Operation Free's stop in Huntington on Monday was the first of a three-day tour across West Virginia. Gensler will be at the Climate Change Conference in Denmark for five days next week.

For more information about Operation Free, go to www.operationfree.net.

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