Video by Ken Newton

Ed May remembers the oil embargo of the 1970s. When the first Gulf War broke out, the Army staff sergeant deployed from his post in Germany and found himself in oily rain as Saddam Hussein’s troops ignited the energy fields of Kuwait.

The Indiana native, a history buff, knew the United States would have to innovate itself away from fossil fuel-based energy sources.

But on Wednesday he lamented, “Here it is 18 years later, after the next two wars, and we’re in exactly the place we were before.”

Mr. May came to St. Joseph as part of Operation Free, a touring group of military veterans advocating alternative and home-grown energy sources as a means of enhancing national security.

Wearing jackets with logos that featured solar panels and wind turbines, the veterans said the United States’ dependence on oil from unfriendly nations provides money for the support of insurgents.

In addition, they said, climate change stemming from carbon emissions creates population displacements that threaten stability and can leave an opening for terrorist recruitment.

“Inevitably you’re going to see an American troop presence in those conflicts,” said Raf Naboa, a soldier who served in the current Iraq war. Since much of the Army depends on National Guard troops and reservists, he added, “You’re talking about policemen, you’re talking about firefighters that aren’t safeguarding the streets of St. Joseph.”

Traveling in a biodiesel-capable bus in an attempt to make the tour carbon neutral, the Operation Free veterans cited statistics indicating Americans spend $1 billion a day on crude oil from other countries. According to their numbers, Missourians spent about 6 percent of annual household income on gasoline in 2008.

Matt Victoriano, a Marine from 2000 to 2004, said displaced populations of regions deprived of water because of climate change become susceptible to enemies of the United States.

“They don’t have anywhere to turn, and the insurgents and the terrorists recruit directly from them,” he said.

Chuck Tyler, a soldier during the first and current Gulf wars, called proposed legislation in the U.S. Senate, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, a “positive first step” in moving toward energy independence. He countered the argument that Missouri, a coal-dependent state, would pay too high a price for the measure.

“We’re not asking people to stop using coal right now and just wait for technology to develop,” the veterans said. “It’s a weaning-off process.”

Mr. Naboa added that Americans already pay a high price for deploying troops.

“You’re saying you would rather send your neighbor over there because that cost is much lower,” he said.

Ken Newton can be reached at kenn@npgco.com.