--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As species are exterminated by shifting…" description: "\"As species are exterminated by shifting climate zones, ecosystems can collapse, destroying more species.\" — James Hansen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/james-hansen-7143_climate_as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting_690208.jpg" --- # As species are exterminated by shifting climate zones… ![“As species are exterminated by shifting climate zones, ecosystems can collapse, destroying more species.” quote by James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/james-hansen-7143_climate_as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting_690208.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/james-hansen-7143_climate_as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting_690208.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/james-hansen-7143_climate_as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting_690208.jpg) > “As species are exterminated by shifting climate zones, ecosystems can collapse, destroying more species.” [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human-driven climate shifts threaten species, causing ecosystem collapse and further extinctions. **In simple terms:** Climate change endangers wildlife and ecosystems. Key Takeaway Act to reduce emissions now. Themes environment climate extinction ecosystem science Mood urgent concerned scientific Type environmental warning When to use this quote - conservation planning - carbon reduction - public education Key Concepts biodiversity loss feedback loops policy urgency Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance growth and conservation? - What policies best protect vulnerable ecosystems? A Different Perspective Economic concerns hinder swift action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) [Ecosystems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ecosystems/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) ## Related quotes > [If enough species are extinguished, will the ecosystems collapse, and will the extinction of most other species follow soon afterward? The only answer anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/if-enough-species-are-extinguished-will-the-ecosystems-collapse-and/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [For the economy itself will die if our ecosystems collapse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/for-the-economy-itself-will-die-if-our-ecosystems-collapse/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [If we and the rest of the back-boned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/if-we-and-the-rest-of-the-back-boned-animals-were-to-disappear/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [We, Homo sapiens, destroyed the majority of the large mammalian species in North America and Australasia just over 10,000 years ago. We, Homo sapiens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-smith/we-homo-sapiens-destroyed-the-majority-of-the-large-mammalian-species/) [Michael Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-smith/) > [Destroying species is like tearing pages out of an unread book, written in a language humans hardly know how to read, about the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holmes-rolston-iii/destroying-species-is-like-tearing-pages-out-of-an-unread-book/) [Holmes Rolston III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holmes-rolston-iii/) > [If the life-supporting ecosystems of the planet are to survive for future generations, the consumer society will have to dramatically curtail its use of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-thein-durning/if-the-life-supporting-ecosystems-of-the-planet-are-to-survive-for/) [Alan Thein Durning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-thein-durning/) > [ We're handing them \[young people & future generations\] a climate system which is potentially out of their control. We're in an emergency: you can… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/we-re-handing-them-young-people-future-generations-a-climate-system/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [A large animal needs a large area. If you protect that area, you're also protecting thousands of other plants and animals. You're saving all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-schaller/a-large-animal-needs-a-large-area-if-you-protect-that-area-you-re/) [George Schaller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-schaller/) > [Ocean energy can contribute a great deal toward the protection or our atmosphere - without damaging marine ecosystems that are equally vital to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-krupp/ocean-energy-can-contribute-a-great-deal-toward-the-protection-or-our/) Fred Krupp > [Restoration ecology is experimental science, a science of love and altruism. In its attempts to reverse the processes of ecosystem degradation it runs exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-mills/restoration-ecology-is-experimental-science-a-science-of-love-and/) [Stephanie Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-mills/) > [School leadership has been identified as another critical element of student success, and subsequently enough resources and training should be provided to our school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaheen-mistri/school-leadership-has-been-identified-as-another-critical-element-of/) [Shaheen Mistri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaheen-mistri/) > [I am passionate about making sure that we collectively and proactively preserve all of the world's most iconic coastal and oceanic wild places -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-dedina/i-am-passionate-about-making-sure-that-we-collectively-and/) Serge Dedina > [ There are ecosystems like coral reefs \[at risk\] through ocean acidification. Those are valuable things that we should protect. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/there-are-ecosystems-like-coral-reefs-at-risk-through-ocean/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Let us be good stewards of the Earth we inherited. All of us have to share the Earth's fragile ecosystems and precious resources, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/let-us-be-good-stewards-of-the-earth-we-inherited-all-of-us-have-to/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [In many environments, take away the ants and there would be partial collapses in many of the land ecosystems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/in-many-environments-take-away-the-ants-and-there-would-be-partial/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) ## More by James Hansen > [Talking nice about sun and wind and green jobs is just greenwash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/talking-nice-about-sun-and-wind-and-green-jobs-is-just-greenwash/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [What is frustrating people, me included, is that democratic action affects elections but what we get then from political leaders is greenwash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/what-is-frustrating-people-me-included-is-that-democratic-action/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The five-year mean global temperature has been flat for the last decade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-five-year-mean-global-temperature-has-been-flat-for-the-last/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [What makes tar sands particularly odious is that the energy you get out in the end, per unit carbon dioxide, is poor. It's equivalent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/what-makes-tar-sands-particularly-odious-is-that-the-energy-you-get/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [We are on the precipice of climate system tipping points beyond which there is no redemption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/we-are-on-the-precipice-of-climate-system-tipping-points-beyond-which/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [Jail threats did not dissuade Martin Luther King - and intergenerational justice is a moral issue of comparable magnitude to civil rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/jail-threats-did-not-dissuade-martin-luther-king-and/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The United States did not sign Kyoto, yet its emissions are not that different from the countries that did sign it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-united-states-did-not-sign-kyoto-yet-its-emissions-are-not-that/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The five-year mean global temperature has been flat for the last decade, which we interpret as a combination of natural variability and a slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-five-year-mean-global-temperature-has-been-flat-for-the-last-2/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [Rising carbon price is essential to 'decarbonize' the economy - to remove the nation towards the era beyond fossil fuels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/rising-carbon-price-is-essential-to-decarbonize-the-economy-to-remove/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [Policy decisions on climate change are being deliberated every day by those without full knowledge of the science, and often with intentional misinformation spawned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/policy-decisions-on-climate-change-are-being-deliberated-every-day-by/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [ Imagine a giant asteroid on a direct collision course with Earth. That is the equivalent of what we face now \[with climate change\], yet… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/imagine-a-giant-asteroid-on-a-direct-collision-course-with-earth-that/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The most difficult task, phase-out over the next 20-25 years of coal use that does not capture COâ‚‚, is Herculean, yet feasible when compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-most-difficult-task-phase-out-over-the-next-20-25-years-of-coal/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [I think we have a very brief window of opportunity to deal with climate change... no longer than a decade, at the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/i-think-we-have-a-very-brief-window-of-opportunity-to-deal-with/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [The climate system is being pushed hard enough that change will become obvious to the man in the street in the next decade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/the-climate-system-is-being-pushed-hard-enough-that-change-will/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) > [Scientists will say we can't blame global warming for any single event. In a sense that's right, but the fact that the frequency and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/scientists-will-say-we-can-t-blame-global-warming-for-any-single/) [James Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) [Explore all 94 James Hansen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/) ## More Climate quotes > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. 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I don't know why. I reuse the water that falls in my backyard in the winter. I reuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-begley-jr/some-would-call-me-an-environmentalist-i-don-t-know-why-i-reuse-the/) [Ed Begley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-begley-jr/) > [I talk to fashion designers and say I want some money to save the rainforest, and they say, 'Oh, I agree with you completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/i-talk-to-fashion-designers-and-say-i-want-some-money-to-save-the/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/climate-change-poses-clear-catastrophic-threats-we-may-not-agree-on/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [Fossil fuels, including oil, are running out and supplies are getting harder to find. If we do nothing, prices will continue to rise and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-powell/fossil-fuels-including-oil-are-running-out-and-supplies-are-getting/) [Lucy Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-powell/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. 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Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) [Browse all 8,549 Climate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As species are exterminated by shifting climate zones, ecosystems can collapse, destroying more species.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Hansen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting-climate-zones-ecosystems-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Climate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting-climate-zones-ecosystems-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/james-hansen-7143_climate_as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting_690208.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/james-hansen-7143_climate_as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting_690208.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/946/james-hansen-7143_climate_as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting_690208.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As species are exterminated by shifting climate zones, ecosystems can collapse, destroying more species.” — James Hansen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Hansen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hansen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As species are exterminated by shifting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting-climate-zones-ecosystems-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hansen/as-species-are-exterminated-by-shifting-climate-zones-ecosystems-can/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```