Amazing Ants
New York City is a wonderful example of how no system works in isolation.
The city of Manhattan, like all cities, has main systems that keep things running smoothly -- water, garbage, sewer, electricity, import/export, and traffic, to name a few. It may seem that these systems are separate and autonomous.
But consider this: if any one of those systems gets clogged or shut down, it will affect many if not most of the other systems.