Rear Admiral Leendert "Len" Hering Sr.

Rear Admiral Leendert "Len" Hering Sr. USN (retired) is a prominent military and civilian sustainability leader with a broad background in energy and environmental issues. His passion is to educate people on the dangers of not taking action to secure the nation’s energy independence and to preserve water, air quality and other resources. While in the Navy, Hering’s efforts ranged from renewable energy to responsible water use and conservation. He built a team recognized throughout the Department of Defense as the best in environmental protection and sustainable innovation. Hering instigated wind, thermal, photovoltaic, conversion technology and alternative fuel use at all levels in Navy facilities. In recognition of his work, President Bush awarded Hering a 2005 Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy Management.

Today, Hering leads "I Love a Clean San Diego," a nonprofit focused on making San Diego the cleanest, most environmentally conscious city in the U.S. He also serves on nonprofit boards and is an active military advisor to the Center for Climate and National Security.

In this talk, Hering will discuss the robust policies needed to reduce the scope and scale of climate change to avoid unmanageable or unpredictable threats. This nonpartisan approach is rooted in fundamental national security approaches to threat reduction, based upon concerns raised by the U.S. national security and intelligence communities.