Think tank taps activist for climate change work

As the threat of rising sea level and the increased frequency and intensity of storms, one young activist from South Florida is emerging as an up-andcoming leader on the issue of climate change, having recently been appointed to a think tank in New York after finishing college to try to work on policy solutions to environmental crises.

Marcela Mulholland, 22, has been named as a “policy entrepreneur” for Next100, a progressive think tank that works to influence public policy in areas such as education and child development, immigration policy, criminal justice, climate change, economics and others. Born in Coral Springs and raised there, in Davie, Weston, Pembroke Pines and Fort Lauderdale, Mulholland experienced the unique challenges facing South Florida’s diverse ecosystems firsthand. She recently graduated from the University of Florida, where she studied political science and sustainability studies.

Before leaving for New York, Mulholland — who is one of nine people selected from over 700 applicants — discussed what she will be doing at Next100 and how growing up in South Florida shaped her views.

“In high school, my family moved to Fort Lauderdale, we lived just a few blocks from the beach and I remember the street outside of my apartment would flood and my parents would have to move the cars up to higher ground and businesses would have to put up sandbags to keep the water from coming in,” she said. “At the time, I didn’t know that was what’s called ‘climate change,’ or in effect, ‘sea level rise,’ I just knew that was the reality for my family.”

Mulholland said climate change needs to be addressed in an intersectional way — that is, looking at how other issues affect climate change and how, on the one hand, and also what and who climate change may affect in ways that are not often discussed or so apparent.

“There’s so many ways that it’s an intersectional issue,” she said. “No. 1 is the economy, so we have research, specifically, the National Climate Assessment, that came out earlier this year that found that by the end of the century, if left unaddressed, climate change can cost the economy upward of $500 billion annually, and that has the potential to create more economic harm than the recession in 2008 did.”

Climate change also impacts immigration in a variety of ways, Mulholland said.

“When we talk about what humane immigration policy can look like in the United States, we have to acknowledge that in the coming century, we could have millions of climate refugees and climate migrants spread across the world,” she said. “The public health implications of climate change are really extreme. We’ll see a spread of more diseases like Zika and Lyme disease. As the climate gets warmer, there are more areas that are conducive to the spread of those illnesses. So for anyone that cares about the economy, immigration, health care, it’s important that we have a climate justice lens when looking at those problems.”

One way to pursue intersection solutions to climate change, Mulholland argues, is through a Green New Deal — the controversial legislation proposed by Sen. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and supported by other prominent Democratic politicians.

“What a Green New Deal essentially is, is the mass social, political and economic mobilization to transition our economy away from fossil fuels and to create millions of good jobs in the process of stopping climate change,” she said.

“We live in a time of intersecting crises — from immigration to health care to economic inequality — there are so many issues that are really urgent that we need intersectional, bold, ambitious public policy solutions and I think a Green New Deal promises to address climate change while also helping to address some of those other issues as well.”

One of Mulholland’s first responsibilities at Next100 was to write an article on the intersectional nature of climate change. She authored Four Reasons Why Climate Change Isn’t a “Single Issue,” where she argues “the climate crisis isn’t a separate, siloed-off concern, but an emergency that touches every aspect of American life and governance.”

To read Mulhol land’ sentire article, visit The Next 100. org/ fourreasons-why-climatechange-isnt-a-single-issue.

COURTESY Activist Marcela Mullholland, 22, has been appointed to the New York-based Next100 think tank after finishing college to work on policy solutions to environmental crises.