
89
3
Climate Change and Its Effect on Ecosystems
Overview
As previously stated, one of the most misunderstood aspects of climate change
is not the rise in air temperature by a few degrees—it is the sheer havoc that
those “few degrees” will wreak not only on human society, but on the natural
environment. One aspect of human nature is that if something is not directly
affecting us, it probably will not make a lasting impression. For instance, con-
sider this: Every time something upsets the balance in the Middle East and the
price of gas skyrockets at the pumps as a result, people complain and drive
less. They might put their SUVs up for sale, serio ...