Dust clouds are building high over the Atlantic. An entire population of caribou is declining, while other species are pushed to the limits of their physical survival in the oceans. A respiratory illness, once uncommon among children in Trinidad, is now widespread. Amazingly, many scientists now believe these disparate phenomena may be linked to global climate change.

Around the world, from the forests of Venezuela to Yellowstone’s majestic wilderness to the Caribbean’s coral reefs, researchers are discovering predators play a vital role in the health of our natural systems. Knowing this, should we learn to live with predators? Can we?

Frogs are vanishing in America’s heartland. Canadian beluga whales are mysteriously dying in the Saint Lawrence River. Swarms of sea stars are overrunning parts of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Are these signals that something is amiss in Earth’s water – from our marshes to the sea? Has water become a massive delivery system for pollutants?