It's easier now than ever before to trigger a mass extinction

Image credit: AJC1 via Flickr/CC BY

The mass extinctions that wracked the earth 200,000 years ago may have been much easier to trigger than was previously believed, a new study published in the July issue of Science argues. It was thought that it took 600,000 years to suffocate much of the planet's life with carbon dioxide. But scientists now have evidence that just a few thousand years of warming temperatures were enough to spur a massive release of methane from the world's seafloors -- creating a feedback loop that dramatically altered the Earth's climate, and rendered it inhospitable for many living things.
And so, the inevitable million-dollar question: Does this finding have any connection to the modern day climate crisis? In a word: Absolutely.

Article continues: Mass Extinctions: Now Easier Than Ever to Trigger!