{"id":72499,"date":"2025-03-19T23:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/03\/19\/why-the-us-military-has-cared-about-climate-change-since-the-cold-war\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T16:34:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:34:14","slug":"why-the-us-military-has-cared-about-climate-change-since-the-cold-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2025\/03\/19\/why-the-us-military-has-cared-about-climate-change-since-the-cold-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the US military has cared about climate change since the Cold War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This article is republished from <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/us\" target=\"_blank\"><i>The Conversation<\/i><\/a><i> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-us-military-has-cared-about-climate-change-since-the-dawn-of-the-cold-war-for-good-reason-246333\" target=\"_blank\"><i>here<\/i><\/a><i>. Military Times has edited the headline.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1957, Hollywood released \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/the-deadly-mantis\" target=\"_blank\">The Deadly Mantis<\/a>,\u201d a B-grade monster movie starring a praying mantis of nightmare proportions. Its premise: Melting Arctic ice has released a very hungry, million-year-old megabug, and scientists and the U.S. military will have to stop it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rampaging insect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/72575\/the-deadly-mantis#synopsis\" target=\"_blank\">menaces America\u2019s Arctic military outposts<\/a>, part of a critical <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nga.mil\/history\/The_DEW_Line-Cold_War_Defense_at_the_Top_of_the_Wo.html\" target=\"_blank\">line of national defense<\/a>, before heading south and meeting its end in New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, it\u2019s over-the-top fiction, but the movie holds some truth about the U.S. military\u2019s concerns then and now about the Arctic\u2019s stability and its role in national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2025\/03\/10\/us-coast-guard-academy-censors-climate-change-from-its-curriculum\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/coast-guard-at-icescape-mission.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US Coast Guard Academy censors \u2018climate change\u2019 from its curriculum<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The terminology will be stricken in classes for future officers in a service that confronts global warming every day, a move some say will weaken it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the late 1940s, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.polar.2010.10.002\" target=\"_blank\">Arctic temperatures were warming<\/a> and the Cold War was heating up. The U.S. military had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=q8iOzlMvM78\" target=\"_blank\">grown increasingly nervous about a Soviet invasion<\/a> across the Arctic. It built bases and a line of radar stations. The movie used actual military footage of these polar outposts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But officials wondered: What if sodden snow and <a href=\"https:\/\/campcentury.omeka.net\/items\/show\/804\" target=\"_blank\">vanishing ice<\/a> stalled American men and machines and weakened these northern defenses?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to those concerns, the military created the <a href=\"https:\/\/wilmettehistory.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/feature-cold-war-2006.pdf%22%22\" target=\"_blank\">Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment<\/a>, a research center dedicated to the <a href=\"https:\/\/campcentury.omeka.net\/items\/show\/715\" target=\"_blank\">science and engineering<\/a> of all things frozen: glacier runways, the behavior of ice, the physics of snow and the climates of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was the beginning of the military\u2019s understanding that climate change couldn\u2019t be ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1526\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/file-20241219-15-nc6bfo.jpeg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-109311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/file-20241219-15-nc6bfo.jpeg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/file-20241219-15-nc6bfo.jpeg.jpg?resize=236,300 236w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/file-20241219-15-nc6bfo.jpeg.jpg?resize=768,977 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/file-20241219-15-nc6bfo.jpeg.jpg?resize=805,1024 805w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Army engineers test the properties of snow on Greenland\u2019s ice sheet in 1955, a critical determinant of mobility on the ice and one that changes rapidly with temperature and climate. (U.S. Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As I was writing \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/wwnorton.com\/books\/9781324020677\" target=\"_blank\">When the Ice is Gone<\/a>,\u201d my recent book about Greenland, climate science and the U.S. military, I read government documents from the 1950s and 1960s showing how the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sevendaysvt.com\/arts-culture\/paul-bierman-discusses-his-book-when-the-ice-is-gone-42489213\" target=\"_blank\">Pentagon poured support into climate<\/a> and cold-region research to boost the national defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Initially, military planners recognized threats to their own ability to protect the nation. Over time, the U.S. military would come to <a href=\"https:\/\/climateandsecurity.org\/2023\/01\/briefer-climate-change-as-a-threat-multiplier-history-uses-and-future-of-the-concept\/\" target=\"_blank\">see climate change as both a threat in itself and a threat multiplier<\/a> for national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ice roads, ice cores and bases inside the ice sheet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The military\u2019s snow and ice engineering in the 1950s made it possible for <a href=\"https:\/\/erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil\/jspui\/handle\/11681\/2787\" target=\"_blank\">convoys of tracked vehicles<\/a> to routinely cross Greenland\u2019s ice sheet, while planes landed and took off from <a href=\"https:\/\/erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil\/jspui\/handle\/11681\/6571\" target=\"_blank\">ice and snow runways<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1953, the Army even built a pair of secret surveillance sites <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.egu.eu\/divisions\/cr\/2022\/01\/21\/sites-i-ii-greenland\/\" target=\"_blank\">inside the ice sheet<\/a>, both equipped with Air Force radar units looking 24\/7 for Soviet missiles and aircraft, but also with weather stations to understand the Arctic climate system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Army drilled the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/ancient-leaves-preserved-under-a-mile-of-greenlands-ice-and-lost-in-a-freezer-for-years-hold-lessons-about-climate-change-157105\" target=\"_blank\">world\u2019s first deep ice core<\/a> from a base it built within the Greenland ice sheet, <a href=\"https:\/\/ahf.nuclearmuseum.org\/ahf\/history\/camp-century\/\" target=\"_blank\">Camp Century<\/a>. Its goal: to understand <a href=\"https:\/\/pastglobalchanges.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2022-06\/PAGEShorizons_2022_56-65.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">how climate had changed in the past<\/a> so they would know how it might change in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The military wasn\u2019t shy about its climate change research successes. The Army\u2019s chief ice scientist, Dr. Henri Bader, spoke on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Voice of America<\/a>. He <a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.archives.gov\/id\/105863#archived-copies\" target=\"_blank\">promoted ice coring<\/a> as a way to <a href=\"https:\/\/d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net\/65371\/archive\/files\/4e38f3b7340a79f73967c5a876588748.pdf?Expires=1735776000&#038;Signature=IBQ8on9FrpGNkWT70f8FIwbGJ1TMSniLx-QRFN9E3Iph%7EFHnl8Hsasv6gbPIA10X3fCPq7riwCrt%7EnhXHl5OptChvgvJPUhSPAtUtI21wea8FZaCTBeHr%7Elhy-3soXASl06C0DxKKIvrfLtl5RK26Zk12Sa1H7AaUh7Kedbq2qr8cgI1nU4yvO5YaoR-0M5xN49GZhKxXME2Egnmj5V0cozj45S9Y4%7EU8CJCgrWTOMuOXrNAfNj%7E-l2MPN%7EWHCmgUNDcZ0f5QtJj77ReNdND2BQkeg2oma0JVznY%7E4Sd2PhKZcbGNK0rfvOgQ7JAFpn1ZVPIl-Zyg3Yn4a0yV9XKgQ__&#038;Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM\" target=\"_blank\">investigate climates of the past<\/a>, provide a new understanding of weather, and understand past climatic patterns to gauge and predict the one we are living in today \u2014 all strategically important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EiJkTMavIuI?si=mI4LBnVlzksiRSyJ\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the 1970s, painstaking laboratory work on the Camp Century ice core extracted minuscule amounts of ancient air <a href=\"https:\/\/campcentury.omeka.net\/files\/show\/820\" target=\"_blank\">trapped in tiny bubbles<\/a> in the ice. Analyses of that gas revealed that <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/284155a0\" target=\"_blank\">levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere<\/a> were lower for tens of thousands of years before the industrial revolution. After 1850, carbon dioxide levels crept up slowly at first and then rapidly accelerated. It was direct evidence that people\u2019s actions, including burning coal and oil, were changing the composition of the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since 1850, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have spiked and global temperatures have warmed by more than 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The past 10 years have been the <a href=\"https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/vital-signs\/global-temperature\/?intent=121\">hottest since recordkeeping<\/a> began, with <a href=\"https:\/\/climate.copernicus.eu\/global-climate-highlights-2024\" target=\"_blank\">2024 now holding the record<\/a>. Climate change is now affecting the entire Earth \u2014 but most especially the Arctic, <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/climate-explained-why-is-the-arctic-warming-faster-than-other-parts-of-the-world-160614\" target=\"_blank\">which is warming several times faster<\/a> than the rest of the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Seeing climate change as a threat multiplier<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For decades, military leaders have been discussing climate change as a threat and a <a href=\"https:\/\/climateandsecurity.org\/2023\/01\/briefer-climate-change-as-a-threat-multiplier-history-uses-and-future-of-the-concept\/\" target=\"_blank\">threat multiplier<\/a> that could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nato.int\/docu\/review\/articles\/2022\/05\/19\/moving-towards-security-preparing-nato-for-climate-related-migration\/index.html#:%7E:text=If%20global%20warming%20continues%20unabated,as%20much%20displacement%20as%20conflict.\" target=\"_blank\">worsen instability<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41558-024-02165-1\" target=\"_blank\">mass migration<\/a> in already fragile regions of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Climate change can fuel storms, wildfires and rising seas that <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2021\/Oct\/21\/2002877353\/-1\/-1\/0\/DOD-CLIMATE-RISK-ANALYSIS-FINAL.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">threaten important military bases<\/a>. It puts <a href=\"https:\/\/health.mil\/News\/Articles\/2024\/04\/01\/MSMR-Heat-Illness-2024#:%7E:text=The%20most%20serious%20types%20of,of%20illness%2C%20and%20appropriate%20interventions.\" target=\"_blank\">personnel at risk in rising heat<\/a> and melts sea ice, creating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nesdis.noaa.gov\/news\/shrinking-arctic-sea-ice-comes-heightened-national-security-concerns\" target=\"_blank\">new national security concerns in the Arctic<\/a>. Climate change can also <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2021\/Oct\/21\/2002877353\/-1\/-1\/0\/DOD-CLIMATE-RISK-ANALYSIS-FINAL.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">contribute to instability and conflict<\/a> when water and food shortages trigger increasing competition for resources, internal and cross-border tensions, or mass migrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The military <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/a-military-view-on-climate-change-its-eroding-our-national-security-and-we-should-prepare-for-it-65535\" target=\"_blank\">understands that these threats<\/a> can\u2019t be ignored. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navy.mil\/Press-Office\/Press-Releases\/display-pressreleases\/Article\/3896769\/secnav-shares-perspectives-on-modern-war-and-climate-change-at-newport-forum\/\" target=\"_blank\">Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro<\/a> told a conference in September 2024: \u201cClimate resilience is force resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4112\" height=\"2444\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635793102908207429-norfolk-naval-stationjpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-71108\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635793102908207429-norfolk-naval-stationjpg.jpg 4112w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635793102908207429-norfolk-naval-stationjpg.jpg?resize=300,178 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635793102908207429-norfolk-naval-stationjpg.jpg?resize=768,456 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635793102908207429-norfolk-naval-stationjpg.jpg?resize=1024,609 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635793102908207429-norfolk-naval-stationjpg.jpg?resize=1536,913 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635793102908207429-norfolk-naval-stationjpg.jpg?resize=2048,1217 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4112px) 100vw, 4112px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A view of aircraft carriers docked at the sprawling Naval Station Norfolk show how much of the region is within a few feet of sea level. (MC2 Ernest R. Scott\/U.S. Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consider <a href=\"https:\/\/cnrma.cnic.navy.mil\/Installations\/NAVSTA-Norfolk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Naval Station Norfolk<\/a>. It\u2019s the largest military port facility in the world and sits just above sea level on Virginia\u2019s Atlantic coast. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nnva.gov\/3049\/Sea-Level-Rise#:%7E:text=In%20our%20area%2C%20we%20have,to%201.5%20feet%20by%202050.\" target=\"_blank\">Sea level there<\/a> rose more than 1.5 feet in the last century, and it\u2019s on track to rise that much again by 2050 as glaciers around the world melt and warming ocean water expands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">High tides already cause delays in repair work, and major storms and their storm surges have damaged expensive equipment. The Navy has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/News-Stories\/Article\/article\/2703096\/dod-navy-confront-climate-change-challenges-in-southern-virginia\/\" target=\"_blank\">built sea walls and worked to restore<\/a> coastal dunes and marshlands to protect its Virginia properties, but the risks continue to increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Planning for the future, the Navy incorporates scientists\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vims.edu\/newsandevents\/topstories\/2023\/slrc_2022.php\" target=\"_blank\">projections of sea level rise<\/a> and increasing hurricane strength to design more resilient facilities. By adapting to climate change, the U.S. Navy will avoid the fate of another famous marine power: the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.climate.columbia.edu\/2023\/05\/01\/vikings-abandoned-greenland-centuries-ago-in-face-of-rising-seas-says-new-study\/\" target=\"_blank\">Norse, forced to abandon their flooded Greenland settlements<\/a> when sea level there rose about 600 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Climate change is costly to ignore<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2021\/Apr\/20\/2002624613\/-1\/-1\/1\/DOD-INSTALLATION-EXPOSURE-TO-CLIMATE-CHANGE-AT-HOME-AND-ABROAD.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">impacts of climate change grow<\/a> in both frequency and magnitude, the costs of inaction are increasing. Most economists agree that it\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/cop\/climate-inaction-costlier-than-net-zero-transition-economists-2021-10-25\/\" target=\"_blank\">cheaper to act now<\/a> than deal with the consequences. Yet, in the past 20 years, the political discourse around addressing the cause and effects of climate change has become <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2022\/08\/22\/how-did-fighting-climate-change-become-a-partisan-issue\" target=\"_blank\">increasingly politicized and partisan<\/a>, stymieing effective action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my view, the military\u2019s approach to problem-solving and <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/us-military-strategists-warn-that-climate-is-a-catalyst-for-conflict-26744\" target=\"_blank\">threat reduction<\/a> has provided a model for civil society to address climate change in two ways: reducing carbon emissions and adapting to inevitable climate change impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. military emits <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-defense-department-is-worried-about-climate-change-and-also-a-huge-carbon-emitter-118017\" target=\"_blank\">more planet warming carbon<\/a> than Sweden and spent more than $2 billion on energy in 2021. It accounts for more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.renewableenergymagazine.com\/emily-newton\/how-does-the-u-s-military-rely-20230222#:%7E:text=Current%20Energy%20Use,77%25%20of%20the%20government's%20energy.\" target=\"_blank\">70% of energy used<\/a> by the federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In that context, its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/News-Stories\/Article\/Article\/3811465\/dod-forges-clean-energy-pathway-with-carbon-pollution-free-electricity-contract\/\" target=\"_blank\">embrace of alternative energy<\/a>, including solar generation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microgridknowledge.com\/military-microgrids\/article\/33012906\/us-military-advancing-in-its-embrace-of-microgrids-at-bases\" target=\"_blank\">microgrids<\/a> and wind power, has made economic and environmental sense. The U.S. military has been moving away from fossil fuels, not because of any political agenda, but because of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.army.mil\/article\/251444\/energy_resilience_efficiency_and_affordability_providing_the_power_to_win\" target=\"_blank\">cost-savings, reliability and energy independence<\/a> alternatives provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As sea ice melts and temperatures rise, the polar region has again become a strategic priority. Russia and China are expanding Arctic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brown.edu\/news\/2022-06-22\/arctic\" target=\"_blank\">shipping routes<\/a> and eyeing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energymonitor.ai\/sectors\/industry\/why-the-world-finds-itself-in-a-greenland-mining-rush\/?cf-view\" target=\"_blank\">critical mineral deposits as they become accessible<\/a>. The military knows climate change affects national security, which is why it needs to continue to address the threats a changing climate presents, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/top-stories\/latest\/hegseth-climate-change-crap-pentagon-rcna195670\" target=\"_blank\">despite the rhetoric<\/a> out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/News-Stories\/Article\/Article\/4121054\/this-week-defense-department-sharpens-standards-flushes-climate-change-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\">of Washington<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/javascripts\/lib\/content_tracker_hook.js\" id=\"theconversation_tracker_hook\" data-counter=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/246333\/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced\" async=\"async\"><\/script>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this commentary, the author examines how the U.S. military sees climate change as a threat in itself and a threat multiplier for national 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