It shows you how much people think they have at stake. In particular, the fantasy of pristine Nature. Everything about global warming denies us this fantasy. Giving up a fantasy is far more difficult than giving up a reality. No wonder 30 Australian professors working on climate science have had their security tightened.
The sadness of Australia was its attempts to remake itself in Europe's image: strictly fantasy, of the purest sort, really. And New Zealand. That place didn't even have mammals in it until the Europeans arrived.