Nine writing prompts to help you imagine a future transformed by climate change

A good writing prompt can fire your imagination. Here’s nine prompts on the theme of humanity’s response to climate change.

The BES encourages writers and artists to tackle the current and potential impact of climate change, such as sea level rise, the migration of people from areas rendered uninhabitable by increasing temperatures, and other impacts. However, the climate crisis can overwhelm even the most creative imagination. For writers, our staff have put together nine writing prompts to spark your ideas.

1️⃣ The sea wall was a hundred years old before the robots started the repairs. Scientists say the global sea level could rise by as much as three feet in the next one hundred years. Sea walls might prevent catastrophic damage. Perhaps robots could them in good condition, protecting cities big and small.

2️⃣ The team broke the previous record for sailing across the Arctic Ocean by six hours. Climate science suggests the Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050. Maybe that creates an opportunity for a new kind of sailing race across the North Pole.

3️⃣ From orbit, the greenhouses on Antarctica looked like malachite buttons. The ice on Antarctica is vanishing, at least in places. What if that leaves open land for growing things in the summer? Imagine the greenhouses dotting a vast plain on the coast of the southern continent.

4️⃣ Jasmine’s DNA mods helped her tolerate the New Heat, until one August day. Weather data shows that the number of record-setting hot days have increased five-fold over the past few decades. What if you could get your DNA modified to help cope with the increase? And what if there’s a limit?

5️⃣ The forest remnant, a paradise in a micro-climate, was surrounded by loggers. Healthy forests are critical to fixing climate change, but they are rapidly disappearing. What if one tiny remnant of forest remained, and one person stood in the way of its destruction?

6️⃣ The engineer promised to stop global warming. Then he switched on the device. Our society depends on engineers to solve the world’s biggest problems. What if one engineer overpromised, and when he turned on his invention, the world paid a terrible price?

7️⃣ The virus emerged after an ancient lake dried out. Many scientists worry that the thawing Arctic could awaken pathogens humans have never seen. Or an ancient lake could hide a disease once thought extinct. What if that virus got loose on the world?

8️⃣ Included in the suicide note was the final reading of atmospheric CO2. Some people feel a sense of hopelessness about climate change. The graphs showing long-term trends aren’t helping. But what if someone found hope in the science, and she was able to change the world’s thinking?

9️⃣ The ship, the Arctic Traverser, hoisted sail in the Beaufort Sea. As a last resort, the world might ban fossil fuels. If that happens, how would cargo travel across the sea? By sailing ship, perhaps, sailing from Canada to Russia, by way of an ice-free Arctic Ocean.

We hope these inspire you to write a new story about humanity’s response to climate change. Be sure to submit your story to a publisher. Readers need to know that an alternative future is possible.

Do you have a writing prompt to share? Leave it in the Comments.

Image by expresswriters from Pixabay