Climate Change Threatens More than Polar Bears, Retired Admiral Says

Another recent concern of the U.S. military is military bases being affected by rising sea levels, which Penn State University meteorology professor and retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Dave Titley said could result in greater damage to the bases in the event of natural disasters. 

One base that Titley said could be particularly affected is the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.  Titley said that every significant U.S. military operation has staged some missions from there.  Rising sea levels affecting the base could create a need for the U.S. to change some of its military plans and procedures.

But outside of military planning and operations, Titley said impacts from climate change can affect all people around the world given increased globalization.

"National security spills from one region to another," Titley said.

Even within the U.S., problems in one region of the country related to global warming can affect people across the country.

For people in Nebraska, Titley said, rising sea levels from global warming may not seem like a major concern.  But when 3.7 million people in the U.S. live within one meter of high tide, a natural disaster along the Florida coast could create a lot of destruction.  And when Florida doesn't have the funds to pay for that, he said, it will need federal tax dollars.

"Wherever we live, we're all going to pay," Titley said.

In terms how to deal with climate change, Titley said much of the planning work from the U.S. military has dealt with short-term goals, but he wants more to be done to address the long-term impacts for the country.

"The technical ways of how to adapt are pretty well-known," Titley said.  "The hard part is doing something."

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