So the Earth warms a few degrees before the end of the century;
so what. The Earth has adapted to dramatic climate changes over
the billion-years course of its existence; in all likelihood it
will adapt again. However, from the immediate and human
perspective, these are three of the innumerable reasons that
humans of the early twenty-first century could justify
drastically curbing the continued accumulation of atmospheric
greenhouse gases. With pollution, habitat degradation and other
human-caused conditions already compromising their resiliency,
many marine species will be challenged to adapt to climate-
change induced rising water temperatures and alterations in the
oceans’ chemical cycling. Fisheries’ abundance and distribution
will shift, affecting the availability of seafood for
consumption and the revenue of fish-dependent economies. From a
study published in the journal Nature, the following chart
presents a broad synopsis of the likely effects of climate
change on global fisheries. Surprise! Another fe