Mckenna Coffey
Mckenna Coffey is an intern with the Environmental Change and Security program. She recently obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of California, Irvine. Before coming to the Center, she interned as a Conference Coordinator for the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. During her undergraduate experience, she also worked as an editor on a forthcoming book discussing Nuclear Policy.
Her passion is for the nexus between environmental sustainability and social equity. Moving forward, she plans to pursue additional degrees and a career in global sustainability.
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Untapped Opportunities? The Need to Integrate Young Women in Water Management
›August 29, 2019 // By Mckenna Coffey
Water security is a pervasive climate issue and one that has increasingly been viewed as a gendered issue. Worldwide, women and girls spend 200 million hours collecting water every day. While doing so, they place themselves at increased risk of assault and become more likely to develop medical issues related to physical labor. They also pay an opportunity cost, as this time could be better spent in school or performing other productive tasks.
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Concerns Rise Over Governance Gap in Arctic
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“We’re attempting to do something that’s never been done before in world history,” said Senator Angus King (I-ME). “The peaceful development of a major new physical asset.” He spoke of the Arctic Ocean at the 8th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations. The symposium was hosted by the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute, in partnership with the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, U.S. National Ice Center, Arctic Domain Awareness Center, Patuxent Partnership, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
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The Power of Serial Dramas: Popular Characters Help Change Attitudes and Behaviors
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“We are all convinced that educational entertainment is the way to go now,” said Anselme Muzalia Wimye, Program Quality Director at Search for Common Ground in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He spoke at a recent event hosted by the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program, Maternal Health Initiative, and The Population Institute. The panel discussed the power of educational entertainment (EE), in particular serial dramas, to precipitate positive behavioral change and public health outcomes in Africa.
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High Seas Biodiversity Treaty Would Prioritize Conservation
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Roughly 20 organizations wield some management authority in the high seas, but none of them have conservation as their core mandate, said Liz Karan, Senior Manager of the Protecting Ocean Life on the High Sea Campaign at the Pew Charitable Trusts. She spoke at a recent Wilson Center event hosted by the Polar Institute and Environmental Change and Security Program. The discussion revolved around aspects of a proposed global treaty on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in areas beyond the jurisdiction of any country. “The high seas treaty comes in as an opportunity to put conservation at the focus of the discussion of how we manage the high seas,” said Karan.
