The Impact of Climate Change on NJ's Infrastructure

Videos

Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences, Geography, Engineering

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Rutgers Climate Institute

Open Resource

What it is

This video from Rutgers Climate Institute explains how rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and sea level rise will have a direct impact on transportation, energy, and communications infrastructure in New Jersey.
Students will understand how energy production and distribution will be disrupted due to climate change.

Teaching tips

Positives

This video will show students how vulnerable New Jersey's infrastructure is to climate change.
Students will see how climate change is connected to many elements of everyday life.

Prerequisites

Students should have a good understanding of what is causing climate change because the video only addresses the effects of climate change.

Differentiation & Implementation

Art classes can make memes that show how some elements of the transportation, energy, or communications infrastructure will be impacted by climate change.
In English language arts classes, students can write a personal narrative about a time when their lives were impacted by transportation, energy, or communications systems failing due to extreme weather or write a fiction piece to illustrate an event in which this would happen.
Other resources on this topic include this video about why climate change causes more extreme weather, this Hot Mess video about how rising temperatures cause more severe hurricanes, and this video about engineering solutions for the future.

From the scientist review

This video spotlights the impact of extreme weather-related events on communication systems, the energy sectors, and built infrastructure. It narrates the interconnectedness of these impacts on residents if urgent climate action is not taken. This is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences, Geography, Engineering
Format: YouTube Video
Language: English
Location: North America > United States > New Jersey
Provider: Rutgers Climate Institute
Authors: Rutgers Climate Institute
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · D2.Geo.4.9-12 + 6 more

Core

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards

D2.Geo.4.9-12Analyze relationships and interactions within and between human and physical systems to explain reciprocal influences that occur among them.
D2.Geo.9.9-12Evaluate the influence of long-term climate variability on human migration and settlement patterns, resource use, and land uses at local-to-global scales.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

MS-ETS1-1.Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
HS-ESS3-1.Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced human activity.
HS-ESS3-6.Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.
MS-ESS3-D.Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities. (MS-ESS3-5)

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