There’s No Place Like Home

By Larry J. Schweiger

When Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz clicked the heels of her ruby slippers three times and said “there’s no place like home,” she meant there’s no place like the plants, animals, and other aspects of her Kansas home that made it uniquely special to her.

A new report by the Carnegie Institution for Science found that due to climate change, the average ecosystem will need to shift about a quarter mile each year to keep up with shifting climate belts.

Many plants and animals that depend on particular climate conditions will not be able to keep up with this rate of change to the ecosystems that have allowed them to flourish.  Less than 10% of protected areas globally will maintain current climate conditions within their boundaries 100 years from now.  With unabated climate change, will the species that make our places uniquely special to us have a place to call home, or will they be left behind?