The Anthropocene and the Near Future

Videos

Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APBiology, History

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Crash Course

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What it is

This video describes how drastically things have changed on Earth over the last 100 years, the complicated problems we currently face, and what the term Anthropocene means.
It discusses a variety of topics, including fossil fuel use, agriculture, technology, and human population growth.

Teaching tips

Positives

This helps explain the complex and multifaceted solutions required to address the many global issues we face today.
The video covers a wide range of topics, such as computing power, increasing complexity, the dark side of innovation, and atomic fission.

Prerequisites

It may be beneficial to pause the video to emphasize certain points or to check for understanding between topics.
Students should have a basic understanding of climate change.

Differentiation & Implementation

This is a great video to incorporate into science classes, social studies classes, or history classes because it discusses the environmental, social, and historical aspects of the global problems we currently face.
Advanced students could discuss topics such as ecological carrying capacity, quality of life metrics, ethics regarding species extinctions, and "hoping" for technological innovation to save us.
Other resources on this topic include A Good Life for All Within Planetary Boundaries, Biodiversity and Humans, and this Table of Solutions to climate change.

From the scientist review

The video illustrates the Anthropocene, the increased complexity and interconnectedness of humans, evolution, energy transition, population growth, and technological advancement. This resource is insightful and recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12, AP
Subjects: Biology, History
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: Crash Course
Authors: Crash Course
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D2.His.1.6-8 + 10 more

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.His.1.6-8Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts.
D2.His.2.6-8Classify series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity.
D2.His.14.6-8Explain multiple causes and effects of events and developments in the past.
D2.His.15.6-8Evaluate the relative influence of various causes of events and developments in the past.
D2.His.2.9-12Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
D2.His.5.9-12Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people's perspectives.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

MS-LS2-1.Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
HS-ESS3-C.1.The sustainability of human societies and the biodiversity that supports them requires responsible management of natural resources. (HS-ESS3-3)

New Jersey Climate Education Hub

English Language Arts

SL.ES.11-12.3Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis, and tone used.

Science

HS-LS2-1.Use mathematical and/or computational representations to support explanations of factors that affect carrying capacity of ecosystems at different scales.
HS-ESS3-5.Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth’s systems.

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