Earths next mass extinction
1 Introduction
The Earth’s history is punctuated by a series of mass extinctions, events that wipe out most animal and plant life on our planet. The most famous of these occurred about 65 million years ago and gave rise to the dinosaurs. But there have been five other extinction events since then, each with its own cause or causes. Now we’re facing another one: climate change may be creating conditions that will lead to another mass extinction—and this time humans may be at fault.
2 Climate change is an imminent threat to humanity, and Earth may be facing its sixth mass extinction.
Climate change is a threat to humanity, and Earth may be facing its sixth mass extinction. That’s because climate change is the result of human activities—such as the burning of fossil fuels or deforestation—that cause greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane to build up in our atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun that would otherwise escape into space, causing our climate to warm up.
As we know, warming oceans lead to more intense storms, rising sea levels and other consequences we’re already feeling today in places like Alaska and Miami Beach (just ask them).
But what does this mean for you? It means you should take steps now so it doesn’t affect your future plans.
3 It’s happened five times before, with different causes.
It’s happened five times before, with different causes.
The Permian-Triassic Extinction was caused by the largest volcanic eruption in Earth’s history — an event that released so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that it triggered a global warming event and led to mass extinction. It took around 10 million years for life to recover from this one.
The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction was caused by an asteroid impact — one of many that occurred during the Mesozoic Era (251 million–65 million years ago). The impact led to wildfires worldwide, and killed most land plants; 70% of marine species died out as well.
The Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction was caused by a meteor impact — one of many that occurred during the Cenozoic Era (65 million–present). Studies suggest humans may have contributed to this extinction event through hunting or habitat destruction; other factors include climate change and volcanic eruptions.
4 The Permian-Triassic Extinction was the worst.
The Permian-Triassic Extinction was the worst mass extinction in Earth’s history. It took place over 300,000 years, beginning at the end of the Permian Period and continuing into the early Triassic. The event was so devastating that it wiped out 90% of all marine species on Earth and 70% of terrestrial vertebrates (animals with backbones).
The cause for this massive die-off is still up for debate, but it likely involved large amounts of volcanic activity due to an enormous eruption or super-eruption. An area 4 times larger than Yellowstone Park would have been covered in lava during this period. If a large amount of lava flowed into an ocean, it could raise temperatures worldwide by 30 degrees Celsius (86 F).
5 The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction was the second worst.
The Triassic-Jurassic extinction was the second worst. It killed off most of the large organisms on Earth and is responsible for the disappearance of dinosaurs from the fossil record.
This mass extinction came about because a supervolcano erupted in India, covering much of Asia and Europe in ash, which led to global cooling. The eruption also caused global warming, as well as massive flooding as a result of earthquakes or tsunamis triggered by its activity.
6 The Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction gave rise to modern life.
The Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction (K-Pg) was the last mass extinction and is generally accepted to have happened about 66 million years ago. The K-Pg event killed off all nonavian dinosaurs, allowing mammals to thrive, which eventually led to humans.
Before this time, reptiles dominated Earth’s ecosystems—and they still do today in places like Australia and South America. In North America and Europe however, it was a different story: warm blooded mammals had been pushing back against reptilian invaders for millennia by adapting their bodies for life on land as well as sea (think whales). With the fall of T-Rexes came an opportunity for these adaptable creatures to take over what had once been an almost exclusively aquatic world inhabited only by marine reptiles that were unable to compete with furred mammals when it came down to who could survive best inland or out at sea: mammalian brains won out over cold blooded brains every time!
7 The Holocene Extinction is happening right now.
You’re probably aware that we are in the middle of a mass extinction event. The Holocene Extinction, to be exact—an era when humans have caused so much damage to the planet that species are going extinct faster than ever before. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), we’ve already wiped out 83% of all wild mammals on Earth since 1970, including several entire species.
The good news is you can change your behavior and make choices that help reduce our carbon footprint and prevent further damage from occurring! Here’s how:
8 Earth will recover, but we probably won’t be here to see it.
The Earth is a resilient planet, and it’s likely that this will be just another bump in the road. The question is whether or not humans will be around to see it.
Our species has proven adept at causing damage, but we’re not particularly good at repairing it. Our extinction rate is higher than any other species of animal on earth—even if we were to survive this mass extinction, our impact would still leave lasting marks on our planet for many millennia.
We may recover from this mass extinction in one or two million years’ time, but by then much of what makes us human may have been lost forever: our ability to communicate through language or art; our capacity for empathy; even something as simple as wearing clothes outside when it’s cold out there (if you’ve ever lived through an Icelandic winter). Despite its resilience, Earth will never return entirely back to where it once was before we came along and ruined everything—just like humans won’t either.
9 Is it possible to stop the extinction ?
The answer to this question is yes. But it would require a monumental shift in human behavior, and that’s something that will not be easy for us to achieve. We must stop the extinction of species before it gets worse than it already is.
But how do we do this? Well, let’s first look at what we can do as humans to help prevent the next mass extinction from happening.
10 Conclusion
Earth is a resilient planet, and over the course of its history has undergone several mass extinctions. The most recent one happened about 66 million years ago, when an asteroid impact triggered the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction. This event killed off about 70% of all species on Earth, including the non-avian dinosaurs. But life went on after that — as it will again in some form or another once our current crisis is over.