By Javier Chagoya

Penn State University Professor of Practice and NPS alumnus, retired Rear Adm. David Titley delivers a presentation on communicating climate change in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Auditorium, April 1. The former Oceanographer of the Navy was on campus for a guest lecture in partnership with the Center for Ocean Solutions Monterey Area Research Institution's Network for Education (MARINE).

"Spoiler alert … It's not about the science," said Titley, whose fast paced presentation, Communicating Climate Risk: Aligning Message, Messenger and Solutions, urged researchers and scientists to relate the subject of climate change to a more personal matter. Titley illustrated his point clearly with before and after photos of Hurricane Katrina's devastation around his own home in Stennis, Mississippi.

"Changes with regard to the environment are happening across the globe, we have only recently begun to understand the impacts on national security," Titley explained. "It's important to have a basic understanding of these impacts … How to manage this risk; what are some practical solutions in regard to policy, operations, budgets or installation management; and, even how to have a conversation with colleagues who may not see climate change as a security risk."

Titley is widely recognized as a leading authority on climate change. As the former Oceanographer of the Navy then in 2009, he was charged to lead the Navy's Task Force Climate Change (TFCC) to address the naval implications of a changing Arctic and global environment.

"It was then Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, who triggered the concept that climate change is a risk to the nation's security. The Task Force I led was able to then make recommendations to Navy leadership regarding policy, investment and action, and to lead public discussion on this complex issue," Titley said.

A Professor of Practice in Penn State University's Department of Meteorology, Titley currently serves as the director of the institution's Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk.