Scientists for decades have warned of the time when climate change would begin to change our daily lives. We're now entering that moment.

The big picture: The Fed, corporate executives, college students, retailers and politicians are all coming to grips with this seminal challenge. We as a species are now living with this problem like never before.

Climate change is ...

Between the lines: We're entering a period of heightened awareness about the problem while simultaneously struggling to address it, given our world's continued deep reliance on cheap oil, natural gas and coal to power our lives.

It isn't a black-and-white problem, but it is a black-and-white moment wherein we have to decide whether to take big action.

The bottom line: We have been driving climate change for decades, and we’ll be dealing with it for centuries — but we can still manage and minimize it.

Read more about the impacts of climate change we're tracking: