$20 billion "to air-condition the desert" in Afghanistan and Iraq

The data comes from Public Radio International's The World.   The concern is that about a thousand American servicement have been killed (by IEDs etc) while transporting fuel to aircondition the tents at the forward operating bases.  The cooling is necessary not just for human comfort, but for the operation of computer equipment.

Steve Anderson is a retired Brigadier General who was General David Petraeus’s chief logistician in Iraq. He says the Pentagon should find ways to make structures at FOBs and other military compounds more energy efficient, not only to save money and be greener, but also, to save lives.

$20 billion.  Annually.  To air-condition tents and temporary structures.

The annual budget for NASA is only $18 billion.