There were 6 major extinction events with different initial causes but the P-T and the K-T extinctions were real the biggies.
The "Great Dying" extinction event 250 million years at the end of the Permian period was caused by a huge increase in geologic activity mainly volcanoes and earthquakes leading to massive climate change.
That was the Permian–Triassic (P–T) extinction event
Methane released from the sea floor got into the atmosphere and the greenhouse effect did the rest.
That saw 70% of terrestrial species and 96% of all marine species on Earth wiped out.
That did it for the Gorgonopsids.
But over millions of years the survivors recovered and there was room for the dinosaurs who ran the show for the next 185 million years.

Then 66 million years ago a big rock went splat into Yucatan Mexico.
That was a bad day for everyone.
Debris in the atmosphere led to catastrophic climate change.
And that caused the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) mass extinction where 75% of species were lost.
That did for the dinosaurs.
But it made way for the mammals who have had is their way since.
And that was fine for 65 million years,

Then about 1 million years ago several species of humans emerged.
Some left Africa and adapted to other tough environments.
But by about 40,000 years ago only one remained - the homo sapien.
The homo sapien was particularly bad for large herbivore mega fauna such as mammoths.
10,000 years ago that species developed agriculture,
That let to large organized societies and freedom from the tyranny of struggling to find food every day.
This allowed the species to thrive and infect every habitable space on the planet.
Widespread habitat destruction ensued.
Then it came up with the idea of burning fossil fuels putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
The combination of massive habitat destruction and degraded atmosphere kicked off the next mass extinction - the Holocene extinction.
Or as it is more commonly known the Anthropocene extinction.
The current rate of extinction of species is estimated at 100 to 1,000 times higher than natural background rates.
Will this one do for us?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction

#1 Very interesting Bob but could you rewrite your story indicating at which point God got involved in all this, I've read your piece several times and can't make up my mind exactly where he or she or it comes in?

#1 I was going to read your entire piece, but I realised that long before I could finish it, the 7th major extinction event would have been upon us.

... so I went down the pub instead.

#2
Jake, it never ceases to amaze me that in this day and age there are still grown-ups that think there is such a thing as god.

#1 Well summarized! Thank you, enjoyed it!

#4 If I've said that once I've said that a million times. It absolutely staggers me how many fossils are still walking around. I find it a planetary embarrassment that people I may pass in the street who I might regard as normal are in fact nearer to monkeys in their intellectual intelligence.

#6
hmmm judge-Jake,
I presume you mean you said the comment in #4 many times.
However, I do think your comments on folks who believe in god are less intelligent is a bit harsh.
Usually they were indoctrinated into religion when they were children.
And that religion would be the one of their parents or guardians.
It is pot luck as to which one you get.
In most open western societies as the kids grow up they figure out for themselves what is true and what is nonsense.
But in some societies, religion pervades societal and political thinking so it can be hard to get outside it's influence.
It does not mean these folks are less intelligent - just less informed.

#6 I'm not sure the bible kooks are any worse than the global warming kooks who scare children into thinking the world will end in 11 years and 10 months. It seems like there's many ways to be "religious". Maybe it's ingrained into the human DNA.

#8 snotraddict, There is a difference between being religious and being rational.
Being religious is accepting views or beliefs without question however irrational.
Being rational is rigorously questioning all the facts before coming to a conclusion.
27 years ago, the world made an attempt to stop the rampant polluting of our planet and came together in Kyoto Japan.
The result was Kyoto Protocol treaty on Climate Change.
The United States refused to ratify it. (Still hasn't today).
Furthermore, the G.H.Bush (oilman) administration put extreme pressure on other countries around the world not to ratify it.
Noam Chomsky - widely regarded as the world's greatest living intellectual named the Republican Party the
'most dangerous organization on Earth in human history'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-39879374/chomsky-republican-party-most-dangerous-organisation-on-earth

Rex Tillerson while CEO of Exxon in 2017 said
"the risk of climate change does exist and that the consequences of it could be serious enough that action should be taken".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-38589786/tillerson-stops-short-on-saying-climate-change-is-man-made

Exon already knew this in the 1960s
In the 2016 presidential campaign, 16 republican candidates were all climate change deniers.
The 17th admitted it existed but said we don't need to do anything about it.
The Koch brothers would only allow climate change deniers as candidates.
Democrats are also dangerous in their own way.
It was Clinton's telecommunications act in 1995 that destroyed journalism in the US.
Nearly all US media is now owned by 6 ratings and influence chasing corporations who have no interest in journalism and the truth.
Why is that Noam Chomsky or Pulitzer prize winner Chris Hedges cannot get on TV in the US?
Are you going to ignore the greatest advocate in consumer protection in American History - Ralph Nadar?
Joseph Goebbles said he learned his trade from the great American propagandist Edward Bernays.
(Bernays gave us the "American Dream" concept).
The rest of the world does not care if America sinks into a cesspit of its own making.
But Americans are the world's greatest polluters and that pollution goes around the world.
Some perspective as regards China to dispel US propaganda.
The per capita carbon footprint of China is 6.57 tonnes.
The per capita carbon footprint of USA is 14.95 tonnes.
That is despite much of the west's heavy industry moving to China.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/chart-of-the-day-these-countries-have-the-largest-carbon-footprints/

Though the individual carbon footprint of Chinese citizens is less than half that of Americans, China is investing vast sums in every possible alternative energy option.
That includes alternative variations of nuclear - Thorium, Fusion, LENR and He3.
China knows if the current course is not corrected, organized human society will collapse within decades.
Meanwhile, the US is fracking with chemicals, sucking sludge out of tar sands and bombing countries back to the stone age to steal their oil.
Here are some US CEOs in action in 1994.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_ZDQKq2F08

And a public servant lying under oath to congress.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=james+clapper+congress&&view=detail&mid=FF14AEA6FD3FC1EF122BFF14AEA6FD3FC1EF122B&&FORM=VRDGAR

He did not go to jail.
In fact, he kept his job - and his fat pension.

A message to younger readers.
When politicians behave like children, the children have to stand up.
Greta Thunberg is standing up now.
Join her.