
Kathleen Mogelgaard
Kathleen Mogelgaard is a writer and analyst on population and the environment, and a consultant for the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program.
She is principal of KAM Consulting, LLC, specializing in research, analysis, and strategic communications at the intersection of human and environmental well-being. Her recent work has focused on population dynamics, climate change, food security, and energy access.
She teaches at the University of Maryland, and has worked with the World Resources Institute, Oxfam America, Population Action International, Aspen Institute, U.S. Climate Action Network, Population Reference Bureau, U.S. Agency for International Development, and others. Her writing has appeared in Grist, The Huffington Post, RH Reality Check, and The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. She holds Masters degrees in natural resources and public policy from the University of Michigan.
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Empower, Educate, and Employ Youth to Realize the Demographic Dividend
›In the course of development, most countries undergo a demographic transition. Health conditions improve and mortality rates decline, causing rapid population growth and a relatively high proportion of young people. Over time, if fertility declines, as it has in most places, growth slows and there is a period when the proportion of very young “dependents” shrinks in comparison to the working age population. This moment represents an opportunity for a “demographic dividend” – an economic boom as a comparatively large cohort of the total population moves through their most economically productive years. [Video Below]
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Climate Change Adaptation and Population Dynamics in Latin America and the Caribbean (Report)
›Global climate trends indicate that our planet will continue warming into the next century, leading to more extreme climate conditions. The Latin America and Caribbean region is vulnerable to some of the most challenging aspects of climate change – sea-level rise, changes in precipitation, glacial melting, spreading of disease, and extreme weather events.
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Reporting on the Spaces Between: How to Cover Climate, Population, and Health Connections
›In his 2007 best-seller, The World Without Us, Alan Weisman explored what would happen to the planet if the human race suddenly vanished – the gradual deterioration of the built environment, the geologic fossilization of our everyday stuff, and the ecological processes that would rebound and thrive without continual and growing human pressure. [Video Below]
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Next Stop, Lima: Building Momentum for a New Global Agreement on Climate Change
›December 1, 2014 // By Kathleen MogelgaardThis fall, a series of significant events signaled what many see as a shift toward meaningful collective action on climate change.
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A Closer Look at USAID’s Climate Strategy: Climate-Smart Development a Work in Progress
›July 14, 2014 // By Kathleen MogelgaardIn March, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest comprehensive synthesis of climate change research. The report concludes that “impacts from recent climate-related extremes, such as heat waves, droughts, floods, cyclones, and wildfires, reveal significant vulnerability and exposure of some ecosystems and many human systems to current climate variability.”
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Among Climate Threats, Military Leaders See Population Growth, Natural Resources as Key Factors
›May 22, 2014 // By Kathleen MogelgaardIn 2007, an influential analysis by 11 retired generals and admirals characterized climate change as a “threat multiplier” that could aggravate the conditions for conflict. Last week, in a follow-up report launched at the Wilson Center, members of the CNA Corporation’s Military Advisory Board framed climate change as a more direct and immediate risk, calling it a “catalyst for conflict.”
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Measurement Matters: Understanding Water Scarcity in an Increasingly Complex World
›March 21, 2014 // By Kathleen MogelgaardIt was a scorching hot April afternoon in Keur Moussa, a small farming community about 60 kilometers outside Dakar, Senegal. The landscape was mostly barren and very dry, and a fine red dust settled into our clothes as we walked with community leaders to learn about their efforts to cope with a changing environment. In this part of the world, adapting to climate change is figuring out how to manage water: how to survive for long periods without it, and what to do when too much comes at unexpected times.
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Beyond the Horizon: Understanding the Future for Better Development Today
›December 16, 2013 // By Kathleen MogelgaardWhen Super Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the Philippines last month, the incredible damage visited on the people, infrastructure, and land was shaped by trends that have been in motion for decades. The country’s population has been growing rapidly, with high concentrations of people living in cities and along the coast; economic growth had been steady, but weak governance and corruption may have exacerbated vulnerability; and the gradual loss of coastal forests and mangroves left many communities exposed to the full brunt of the typhoon’s storm surge. On a positive note, wireless technology and crowd-sourced data helped in disaster response.