Remembering Climate Change...A Message from the Year 2071

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Grades9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences, Economics, Civics, English Language Arts

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What it is

This short work of science fiction, read by the author Kim Stanley Robinson, imagines a future where humanity has made international systemic changes to halt climate change.
This future society of 2071 has reprioritized the economy, allowing people, companies, and governments to earn money by capturing carbon from the atmosphere or by keeping carbon from getting released.
Robinson stresses the importance of interdisciplinary and global teamwork.

Teaching tips

Positives

A transcript of the video is available in 15 languages.
The sources Robinson used are posted below the video.
While Robinson does not veer away from the complexity and danger of the current climate situation, he ultimately has a hopeful message about climate change.

Additional Prerequisites

Students should have a good understanding of climate change and carbon capture technologies.
Kim Stanley Robinson has authored many books, including the dystopian climate novel Ministry for the Future.

Differentiation

Robinson lists many solutions for reducing carbon in the atmosphere, which students could research and present to the class.
Civics, government, and social studies classes could debate the feasibility of the international solution that Robinson presents.
English classes could use this piece to inspire their own science fiction short stories about climate change.

From the scientist review

This 10-minute TED talk envisions a possible future in which humans have substantially addressed climate change from the viewpoint of a look back from the year 2071. This is a version of the story from the recent science fiction novel The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. This resource is an excellent example of envisioning the future through thought experiments and is a great way to start discussions of Earth's future. This resource is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Economics, Civics, English Language Arts
Format: Downloadable MP4/M4V
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: TED
Authors: Kim Stanley Robinson
Published: June 24, 2022
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D2.Civ.11.9-12 + 13 more

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.Civ.11.9-12Evaluate multiple procedures for making governmental decisions at the local, state, national, and international levels in terms of the civic purposes achieved.
D2.Civ.14.9-12Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
D2.Civ.3.9-12Analyze the impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on the maintenance of national and international order.
D2.Civ.6.9-12Critique relationships among governments, civil societies, and economic markets.
D2.Eco.12.9-12Evaluate the selection of monetary and fiscal policies in a variety of economic conditions.
D4.6.9-12Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple contexts; and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these problems over time and place.

Maine Climate Education Hub

English Language Arts

R.9-12.4Read various texts closely to determine what each text explicitly says and to make logical inferences; cite specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from the texts.
R.9-12.6Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
R.9-12.8Analyze the structure of various texts, including how the features and components relate to each other and the whole.

Science and Engineering

HS-ESS3-2Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
HS-ESS3-4Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
HS-ETS1-3Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

Social Studies

Economics(F1): Students understand the principles and processes of personal economics, the role of markets, the economic system of the United States, other economic systems in the world, and how economics serves to inform decisions in the present and future by analyzing the role of financial institutions, the financial markets, and government including fiscal, monetary, and trade policies.
GlobalConnections (F2): Students understand economic aspects of unity and diversity in Maine, the United States, and the world, including Maine Native American communities, by analyzing how resource distribution effects wealth, poverty, and other economic factors.

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