Kate Glavan Keeps Us Informed on Climate Change and Politics

The world of U.S. politics can seem terrifying at times, but with the upcoming 2020 presidential election, individuals are feeling more inclined than ever to actively speak up and vote to seek change for the future of America. 21-year old Kate Glavan is making use of her NYU education in politics and environmental justice to communicate with people the importance of politics and its effects in the United States.

Kate graduates at the end of this year but has achieved a headstart in her political career by actively protesting and seeking change for the country to ensure a greener and more equitable future for all. She reflects in weekly newsletters discussing basic fundamentals and key details of political issues. By utilizing her impressive knowledge, she enables an easier understanding of crucial topics to her Instagram followers.

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Week Nine — Climate Change Part 1: Politics

A post shared by kate glavan (@kateglavan) on Jul 26, 2020 at 9:03am PDT

Kate spoke with SHEESH! about her political stances and how she has actively involved herself in the NYC community to fight for climate change.

SHEESH!: How did you discover you wanted to study politics? 

KATE GLAVAN: “I was driven by politics from a very innate sense of it because I do have a brother with disabilities, so I think seeing that growing up shaped my worldview. Growing up in high school my parents would tell me more and more stories about the disadvantages someone with disabilities receives. Fighting for someone you don’t know, fighting for someone that doesn’t have access and being an advocate was a part of my identity growing up.” 

SHEESH!: How do you perceive your role in politics?

KATE GLAVAN: “I first thought, I’m not gonna go work in Congress, that’s an identity I don’t fit. I never knew what political advocacy work I wanted to do, but I wanted it to be something that makes me wake up every day to imagine a better world. It drives me nuts seeing how much is going wrong in the world. I want to continue to find different causes to give my time to and be an advocate for them in some way. I’m now in a program where you get to design your own major at NYU and am studying politics and environmental justice.” 

SHEESH!: What groups or politicians do you follow that are fighting for climate change? 

KATE GLAVAN: “There’s a few groups that are really focusing on climate change that I really feel inspired me. Sunrise Movement is one of them. A bunch of people left the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2018 and they wanted to focus on something that was related to climate change, more specifically focusing on how they can connect fighting climate change to how they can give people jobs and fight for healthcare and how to connect it to all these other social issues. This is where the Green New Deal was born out of.

I’m really impressed by Sunrise. They are sending policy proposals to political candidates and they are endorsing and campaigning for candidates. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of them, she’s a cosponsor of the Green New Deal, so they obviously back her. Senator Ed Markey is the other cosponsor.” 

SHEESH!: What made you so passionate about environmental politics? 

KATE GLAVAN: “I read this book by David Wallace-Wells called ‘The Uninhabitable Earth’ and it talks about climate change in an all encompassing way. It’s a terrifying book and shook me to my core when I read it. It talks about how you get places – that’s related to climate change. What food you buy, where you shop, racial injustices, environmental injustices, it’s all interconnected to climate change. It woke me up. If we don’t solve this issue all other political issues don’t matter. That’s where my interest in environmental issues came up.”

SHEESH!: How can our readers learn to be further sustainable and do their part to prevent furthering climate change?

KATE GLAVAN: “You can recycle, shop sustainably, go vegan, but that’s kind of like the base of the cake. Now the icing on the cake is calling your representatives. A lot of these issues are not made accessible to people. We read a very national news digest, so I’m reading every, specific detail about what’s happening in the wildfires, meanwhile there’s probably some sort of pollution issue happening in New York City that I don’t know about. I think with climate change, learning about your parks and recreation board or your environmental protection agency in your state, that can be two bodies of government that can be really helpful.” 

SHEESH!: How much can you express the importance of voting in this upcoming election?

KATE GLAVAN: “I do think if you have the access to vote, you need to get out and vote, especially if you do live in a swing state because so much does depend on specific states in the U.S. I don’t know how people can see the fires happening on the West Coast and think we need a climate denier in the White House?

For people who have access to voting, especially when we see so many people not having access to the right to vote, whether it’s be felons in this country who don’t have the right to vote, or historically Black people in the South who didn’t have the right to vote because of gerrymandering and the discrimination of voting. You need to vote if you have access to it. Especially with Covid-19 too, there’s going to be a lot of old people who don’t feel comfortable voting, so if you are young and healthy go vote!” 

SHEESH!: Does your mind ever feel overwhelmed from studying so much about politics?

KATE GLAVAN: “Absolutely. Politics and affecting changes in this world scare me to go to bed every night, but it makes me want to wake up every morning.” 

SHEESH!: Do you have hope for the future? 

KATE GLAVAN: “I do. As younger and more diverse representatives come into government, as well as young activists outside of government influencing politicians, I feel very hopeful where the conversation will go. You look at Congress and it’s all old white men, which does not represent America, or the future of America. The conversation will have to change. Especially with climate change, there are certain things that are unavoidable that we are going to have to address. I’m scared about which way it will go, but I am hopeful about it.” 

Yes, politics at first can seem very overwhelming and difficult to fully grasp, but at the end of the day it’s important to involve yourself in something that impacts your rights and future. It’s a broad system of powerful individuals who are controlling the country, therefore taking the extra step to further educate yourself can open your eyes quite a bit. One accessible way to do so can be by following Kate’s Instagram to embark on her political journey.