Vice Adm. William R Burke, deputy chief of naval operations for fleet readiness and logistics, speaking Oct. 13 about the Navy's energy conservation

The Department of Defense celebrated its efforts to minimize energy consumption last week at the Pentagon. (Read about the panel and events here.) Considering that DoD accounts for more than 90 percent of the federal government’s oil consumption, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen put it best: “It’s taken us far too long to get to this point.” Read his speech

Moving from the “burn it if you’ve got it” mentality has been hard for the military but recent emphasis on the many sketchy countries the U.S. buys oil from has helped with the transition. And the US military in particular has a real opportunity here to lead. Again, as Mullen put it, “We can either lead the change or be changed by the leadership of others.”