How Does the Ongoing Mass Extinction of Animals on the Planet Differ from the Others?

Recently, I've received several letters from readers. They write something like: “So what if the sixth mass extinction is happening? There were other extinctions on the planet, do you mean to say people caused those as well?”

It's strange that such letters come all at once. Let's go through all six extinctions together—I think it will be of great interest to many!

Let's start with what's happening now. The planet is undergoing the sixth mass extinction of species, known as the “Holocene extinction” or “anthropogenic extinction.” The situation is such that this extinction began about 12,000 years ago, but on a very small scale. The main extinction began in the last 200 years when humans started the total exploration and colonization of all continents! They arrived—colonized—destroyed.

According to scientists, the current mass extinction is almost exclusively the result of human activity, specifically provoked by humans!

According to the meta-report of global scientists published in 2024, it is now certain that the extinction of species has critically accelerated in recent decades. In just the last 50 years, due to human activity, about 73% of all living species on the planet have been wiped out!

The beginning of this extinction was essentially laid 200 years ago during the period of “total colonization.” Following this was the rapid growth of the human population, the era of “abundance” and excessive consumption—capitalism. And specifically, in the last few decades, humans have rushed to devour the remnants of living nature: objective real data from global scientists show that only about 27% of living species remain on the planet.

Now let's examine previous eras of extinction and try to understand what is different about what's happening today.

1. Ordovician-Silurian Extinction

This extinction occurred about 443 million years ago. It lasted about 1 MILLION YEARS—this is the time duration during which animals slowly went extinct. During this time, new evolutionary species formed, and older ones perished! Overall, the extinction wiped out about 85% of all species on the planet.

At that time, life existed only in the oceans and seas. Over a million years, there were two spikes of extinctions! Scientists originally attribute this to the movement of Gondwana—an ancient supercontinent located in the Southern Hemisphere. It included present-day continents: Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand. It began to move and split, forming the planet's features, which led to extinction.

2. Devonian Extinction

It occurred about 372–359 million years ago! During this extinction, new species of animals formed again, while all older species went extinct. This extinction lasted from about 500 thousand to 15 MILLION YEARS! Exact dates are unknown because it happened very long ago. However, thanks to excavations and numerous studies, scientists have determined that over a long period, about 75% of all animal species perished on the planet.

The latest data, using more in-depth analysis, suggests that this extinction lasted about 25 million years and consisted of a series of events. During these millions of years, a new evolutionary history was formed!

3. Permian Extinction

Scientists called it the “Great Dying” because life on the planet almost completely diminished. This is the most MASSIVE extinction in Earth's history! It began about 252 million years ago and lasted approximately 1 MILLION YEARS.

The Permian extinction wiped out up to 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrates. This was the largest biosphere catastrophe in the planet's history. Causes include flood basalt eruptions worldwide. There were releases of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and catastrophic ocean acidification was observed. Also, during this time, the planet might have been struck by a huge asteroid, possibly triggering seismic processes.

4. Triassic Extinction

This extinction occurred on the planet about 201 million years ago. It happened relatively quickly by the planet's standards: the peak extinction occurred over a period of 10,000 years. But the geological epoch from the start of extinction to the end varies, according to different estimates, from 500 thousand to 1 million years.

This extinction began just before the breakup of Pangaea—a supercontinent that united all existing continents. The breakup of the supercontinent meant changes in the atmosphere's composition, massive releases of methane and other substances into the oceans and atmosphere, and global volcanic eruptions.

The Triassic extinction wiped out about 76% of all species, paving the way for the dominance of dinosaurs in the Jurassic period.

5. Cretaceous Extinction

And finally, the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction on the planet, which probably everyone has heard about! It happened about 66 million years ago.

It was the age of dinosaurs on Earth, the bones of which people still find. Huge giants and amazing animals filled all ecological niches of the biosphere. But, in those times, an asteroid about 15 kilometers in diameter impacted the planet. Its crater, confirming the dates of the impact, was discovered in Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Cretaceous extinction ended the Mesozoic era and ushered in the Cenozoic era, which continues to this day—we live in it.

The Cretaceous extinction lasted several thousand years, and during this time, about 75% of all animals on the planet went extinct, mainly large dinosaurs with a body mass of over 25 kilograms.

In Conclusion

Our planet has changed its appearance over millions of years. Its history is a history of maturation. Nearly all mass extinctions were caused by evolutionary changes not only in living species, which are part of the biosphere, but also in the Earth itself. These extinctions typically lasted millions of years, during which one species would disappear, and another would arrive.

The exception is the previous Cretaceous extinction when dinosaurs died out since it most likely happened due to an asteroid impact, which led to catastrophic consequences. But even then, large animals went extinct slowly, while small species adapted, paving the way for a new evolutionary history.

What's different today?

Humans appeared, and we, through our actions, resemble a common disease. We behave like a virus or infection that affects all living things around it and simply destroys its own habitat.

The difference with earlier periods of extinction on the planet is that we are doing this, by Earth's standards, almost instantly. In essence, the last 200 years since the inception of the “global colonization” period, the planet is severely ill, and its illness is us.

I have studied numerous scientific works, read books by the great Russian scientist and thinker Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky, who laid the foundations of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and radiogeology. His book “The Biosphere” discusses how life on the planet is a geological force shaping the Earth. He asserted the necessity of measuring human activities against the principles of the integrity of this world.

I believe that humans are the nascent intelligence of Earth's biosphere. Our planet is maturing, and humanity was supposed to become its mind. These are profound processes, but this is my theory.

Perhaps something went wrong, and instead of becoming the planet's intellect, we are acting as a dangerous disease, leading to unprecedented extinction of all life in the planet's history. And this will ultimately inevitably lead to our extinction since we are part of nature, and by destroying Life, we destroy our habitat.

Yet, I believe we have a chance to stop. A last chance to change something! But for this, we need people who, like Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky, can awaken humanity and lead it.

In the fight for Life.

© PAVEL PASHKOV