What YOU Can Do about Climate Change

Videos

Grades9, 10, 11, 12Civics

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Our Changing Climate

Open Resource

What it is

This video from Our Changing Climate highlights the differences between individual consumer actions to solve climate change and the necessary collective actions that we must take as a society.
It shows how individual consumer actions are often emphasized over systemic, political, regulatory, and corporate actions.
Positive solutions are offered that individuals can take that will promote and work towards those collective goals.

Teaching tips

Positives

This video is great at shifting students' focus onto bigger solutions that are necessary to fight climate change while recognizing that individual actions still matter.
The video encourages participation from all and discourages attaching morality to the often necessary use of fossil fuels, which can alienate others from the movement.

Prerequisites

The content ends at 9:40 and is followed by sponsorship information.
There are ads before the video.
Students should understand climate change and that it is caused by fossil fuel use.

Differentiation & Implementation

Civics and social studies classes can use this to teach the difference between individual action and collective action.
The concept of regulatory action is stressed as a necessary step beyond consumer choices, which can also be addressed in civics and social studies classes.
Other resources about the solutions to climate change include this video by Project Drawdown, this article about food waste, and this video by the Climate Reality Project.

From the scientist review

This resource explains the concept of individual action versus systemic change to fight climate change. Individual action is not enough to curb fossil fuel emissions, and this video examines what a person can actually do while showing how systemic change is needed to prevent the worst effects of global warming. This resource is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Civics
Format: YouTube Video
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: Our Changing Climate
Authors: Our Changing Climate
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

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

Core

Core Standards legacy

D2.Civ.1.6-8D2.Civ.1.6-8 Distinguish the powers and responsibilities of citizens, political parties, interest groups, and the media in a variety of governmental and nongovernmental contexts.
HS-ESS2-7.HS-ESS2-7. Construct an argument based on evidence about the simultaneous coevolution of Earth’s systems and life on Earth.
HS-ESS3-1.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.
D2.Civ.14.9-12D2.Civ.14.9-12 Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
D2.Eco.7.9-12D2.Eco.7.9-12 Use benefits and costs to evaluate the effectiveness of government policies to improve market outcomes.
D4.6.9-12D4.6.9-12 Use 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.
D4.7.9-12D4.7.9-12 Assess options for individual and collective action to address local, regional, and global problems by engaging in self-reflection, strategy identification, and complex causal reasoning.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.3CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.3 Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.2CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.3 Evaluate 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.

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