2071: The Journey of How We Avoided Dystopian Outcomes

What will our world look like in 50 years? With the myriad of current environmental issues - biodiversity loss, plastic pollution, and of course, the climate crisis - it is hard to know for sure, but it looks pretty grim. But what if we changed our ways and avoided planetary catastrophe? What would that journey look like and how would you look back to 2021? What lessons and stories would you have to tell?

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In collaboration with York U’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, Alternatives Journal’s third issue of this year (46.3) is going to be a collection of stories from the perspective of 2071. We aim to mentally enter the year 2071, with the assumption that we made it to that point, and tell stories from our journeys on getting there. The stories will look from a backwards point of view on how we managed to dodge environmental cataclysm and rebuild society and nature anew. A combination of cli-fi (climate fiction), utopian and dystopian creative visions, climate science, and intergenerational stories are required to make this issue, the future of 2071, come to life.

Our goal is to challenge readers to think about the climate crisis in a different way and start thinking about what they’re going to do in their individual lives and communities to strive for that possible future; we want people to envision the journey. We’re not looking for false hope or optimism, but rather, diverse stories that are grounded in the views of people. We want to share the pathways people have taken and their ancestors have walked, and translate those into a new perspective of looking back from the future, as a type of “letter to our past, 2021-inhabiting selves”. 

A\J is seeking volunteer writers who may be interested in contributing a cli-fi, futuristic, intergenerational, utopian/dystopian-related piece for this upcoming issue, 2071. We are looking for NEW VOICES: pitches from BIPOC storytellers, new grads, and most importantly, young writers - the ones who will be living in that future… We want diverse perspectives, new ideas, and interesting story angles to present this vision of 2071.

Opportunities to contribute to a variety of different topics for online articles are also available.

Those who may be interested are asked to email: Siobhan Mullally at siobhan.mullally@alternativesjournal.ca or David McConnachie at david@alternativesjournal.ca.

About A\J

A\J, or Alternatives Journal, is Canada’s national environmental magazine and has been independently publishing intelligent & informed environmental journalism since 1971. A\J is published by Alternatives Media Inc, a registered Canadian charity that is dedicated to publishing hundreds of stories, inspiring thousands of meaningful actions and engaging with millions of Canadians, each and every day.