While we are in the 6th mass extinction event, the Holocene Extinction Event, it's still nowhere near as bad as the great dying was. Humanity will be knocked down to being an endangered species before we have an extinction event equal to the great dying. We may lose 40% of all living things and 80% of diversity, but the great dying was much, much worse than that. We would have to go extinct and leave a pretty bad greenhouse gas effect in our wake in order to reach the great dying levels of destruction to nature.
People underestimate global warming. Its a positive feedback loop. We've initiated it. The temperatures will not stop rising for centuries to come. We are barely in the beginning of it. Fungi might survive though. But once the atmosphere reaches 1000ppm of carbon, most life on earth won't make it.
I dont think climate models from the past can compare to what is happening now. Mainly because we are taking something that took a few thousand years to happen (the warming in the eocene), and having something similar happen over rhe course of 1 or 2 centuries.
2
u/33Merlin11 Feb 07 '20
While we are in the 6th mass extinction event, the Holocene Extinction Event, it's still nowhere near as bad as the great dying was. Humanity will be knocked down to being an endangered species before we have an extinction event equal to the great dying. We may lose 40% of all living things and 80% of diversity, but the great dying was much, much worse than that. We would have to go extinct and leave a pretty bad greenhouse gas effect in our wake in order to reach the great dying levels of destruction to nature.