The Pentagon reported major environmental improvements since 1989

Evidence

Since the George H. W. Bush administration, the Pentagon has also made progress in “greening” itself at home and abroad to lessen the military’s environmental footprint. In 1989, secretary of defense and future vice president Dick Cheney noted the poor environmental conditions on bases and initiated a “Defense and the Environment” initiative to make the Pentagon “the federal leader in agency environmental compliance and protection.” By 1995, the Pentagon reported reducing energy usage on bases by an average of 14 percent and fuel usage by 20 percent over levels a decade earlier. In 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency gave the Pentagon an award for reducing its pesticide use by 50 percent; two years later, it credited the military with “significant decreases” in greenhouse gas emissions. In 1999, the military reported reducing toxic chemical disposal by 77 percent in five years. During the George W. Bush administration, the Pentagon reported reducing hazardous waste disposal by 68 percent since 1992 and diverting 41 percent of its solid waste to recycling. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 386

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 386