Another interesting consequence of the climate crisis… IMHO microbes tend to be quite invisible in climate coverage (bad joke) but as everyone knows our tiniest critters are the foundation of ALL life on earth. As our phytoplankton go (which produce at least half of earth’s oxygen) so goes our species!
The following is a common theme in the philosophy of science. While science is the best method yet devised for understanding discrete phenomena in Nature, it is not as good at revealing the complex relationships among phenomena. We certainly require deep and narrow specialization to tease out Nature’s fine detail but that can make it harder to “connect the dots” of the “big picture” where multidisciplinary investigation is necessary. One can argue that individual life forms have no existence outside their relationships with the biosphere in the same way that a hubcap has no meaning without its connection to a car.
A great example is our highly specialized health system. Patients still “fall through the cracks” despite being seen by a parade of specialists who often don’t have time to speak with one another or reply to the referring physician. Our health system has long been criticized for being too specialist and hightech-centric.
This isn’t science’s fault: Mother Nature is simply an infernally complex web of dynamic interactions. A strong dose of intellectual humility is in order!