When Threatening Change came in the time of the dinosaurs, 65 million years ago, after thriving and surviving for 200 million years, they enacted tactics in a strategy of Adaptive Response. Their strategy was too-little/too-late to compete with Threatening Change coming too-much/too-soon. Living things demand time to adapt. If 'change' is too extreme, or too fast, they don't have that time.
The Human Phenomenon of the last 170 years (1850-2020) has Caused Effects of Threatening Change so significant the period is recognized as a new geologic epoch; The Anthropocene. Every living thing on and in the closed system of planet Earth, including Humans, is Threatened.
Going from 1 billion Humans in 1850 to 2 billion in 1925, 3 billion just 37 years later (1962), 4b 14 years later (1976), 5b 10 yrs. later ('86) and to 7.7b in 2020, was significant in itself, exponential population increases of a species. But The Human Phenomenon's 'Industrial Revolution' was a whole other aspect. Homo Sapiens, 'Knowing Man', focused on the 'industry', and did NOT 'know' the byproducts of the burning to power the industry would trap heat in the atmosphere, the oceans, and trigger releases from decaying organic matter, in such quantities as to alter the entirety of planet Earth. 'Knowing Man' had become Homo Ignitius, 'Burning Man', burning anything that would burn, animal fat, animal dung, grass, wood, coal, oil, gases in inconceivable quantities. Cities became blackened with coal soot. Plants, insects, animals, fish, every living thing, had to enact tactics in a strategy of Adaptive Response to the 'change', not merely 'different', but Threatening Change, capital T, capital C.
Burning Man had another Threatening Change in The Anthropocene, becoming Homo Plasticius, 'Plastic Man', spewing plastic into the closed system of planet Earth. Designed to last forever plastic was employed for the most temporary of purposes, getting product from seller to ultimate consumer, and then thrown 'away'. Knowing Man did NOT 'know' every piece of plastic ever made would still be out there, somewhere in the closed system of planet Earth decades later.
Someone, somewhere, is burning something, right now, to Supply your Demand/Desire for the food you will eat, the clothes you will wear, the shelters you will live and shop and work and be entertained in, the transportation you will employ, in your near future. We burn things just to get them out of sight. We, The Human Phenomenon, are a substantial Cause of the Effects on all living things, demanding they enact tactics in strategies of Adaptive Response. Living things have competence to Adapt, to some degree. Time and extremity of the Changes will determine the Result.
Humans Adapt by deciding to Adapt. We Adapt the way we 'Lead' our lives. But big decisions are made for us by Leadership Decision-Makers in commerce and government. Unless these people are competent for the Demanded thinking and enactment of tactics in a strategy of Adaptive Response, the rest of us can not compensate for their failings. So the Want Ad reads: Wanted; Homo Sapiens, 'Knowing Man'. Must be competent to make big decisions for all the rest of us. Inquire within the closed system of planet Earth. Time...is of the essence.