When you look at how security is discussed today, it’s hard to ignore how closely economic and environmental issues are linked. Economic security basically means people can count on steady work, income, and housing without constantly worrying about losing them (Ronis 2011). Environmental security, on the other hand, is about keeping the air, water, and land healthy enough to support life and jobs (Trombetta 2008). Once one starts to slip, the other usually does too, and those effects rarely stay within one border.
Here in Washington State, especially around the Tacoma–Seattle area where I work near Joint Base Lewis–McChord (JBLM), these links show up everywhere. The two biggest challenges right now are housing costs and underemployment. The Washington Office of Financial Management (2025) lists “high cost-of-living, economic hardship, and job instability” among the top statewide problems. Even full-time workers are stretched thin by rent, and a lot of folks are in jobs that don’t match their skills or pay level. The Seattle King Workforce Development Council (2023) called it “startling rates of economic insecurity,” which really sums up how many middle-income families feel. When people are barely staying afloat, it doesn’t just hit households, it affects the workforce and even the readiness of bases like JBLM that rely on stable local economies.
Environmental pressures tell a similar story. Around Puget Sound, the Washington Department of Ecology (2025) points to acidification, toxic runoff, and oxygen loss that threaten marine life and fishing communities. The Washington Policy Center (2024) warns that the state isn’t meeting several key energy and environmental goals, which could hurt both jobs and health down the line. You can really see how these issues connect: when the environment takes a hit, industries like fisheries lose income, and that feeds back into local economic stress.
What stands out to me is how this pattern in Washington mirrors what’s happening globally. Rising costs of living and shrinking natural resources drive migration, competition for materials, and fragile supply chains, all of which pose significant transnational security challenges. Seagle (2019) notes that ecological strain and inequality can spark instability that spreads beyond borders. For example, the housing crunch near Puget Sound looks a lot like what’s happening in coastal areas of Southeast Asia or southern Europe, where overcrowding and climate stress are forcing people to move. The same forces that strain Washington’s economy also play out internationally, shaping how nations cooperate—or clash—over resources.
Fixing this means tackling both fronts at once. Expanding affordable housing near job hubs, boosting clean-energy projects, and protecting Puget Sound would make the region stronger overall. On a national scale, agencies such as the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security need to recognize environmental decline as a direct security risk linked to economic inequality. As Hough (2019) argues, protecting the environment isn’t just about nature; it’s about protecting people and the systems that keep them safe.
Seagle (2019) emphasizes that environmental and national security are interdependent, without addressing ecological degradation and resource scarcity, peace and stability remain fragile. For Washington State and beyond, keeping that balance isn’t just smart policy; it’s the key to long-term national and transnational stability.
References
Dalby, Simon. 2013. "Climate Change." The RUSI Journal 158 (3): 34–43.
Ecology. 2025. "Environmental Security Threats in Washington State." Washington Department of Ecology. https://ecology.wa.gov/ecologys-work-near-you/river-basins-groundwater/puget-sound/issues-problems.
Hough, Peter. "Back to the Future: Environmental Security in Nineteenth-Century Global Politics." Global Security: Health, Science and Policy 4, no. 1 (12, 2019). doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23779497.2019.1663128. http://ezproxy.bellevue.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/back-future-environmental-security-nineteenth/docview/2351020134/se-2.
Office of Financial Management (OFM). 2025. April 2025 Economic Report. https://ofm.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/dataresearch/economy/monthlyeconomicreport/April2025EconomicReport.pdf.
Ronis, Sheila R., ed. 2011. Economic Security: Neglected Dimension of National Security. NDU Press. https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/Books/economic-security.pdf
Seagle, Adriana. 2019. "Environmental (In)Security in the Middle East." In Regional Security in the Middle East, edited by Bettina Koch and Yannis A. Stivachtis. E-International Relations Publishing.
Trombetta, Maria Julia. 2008. "Environmental security and climate change: analysing the discourse, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 21:4, 585–602, DOI: 10.1080/09557570802452920.
Washington Policy Center. 2024. "Report Card Warns Washington State Failing to Meet Targets in Key Energy and Environmental Areas." https://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/detail/report-card-warns-washington-statefailing-to-meet-targets-in-key-energy-and-environmental-areas.