The Great Oxygenation Event

The Great Oxygenation Event took place 2.4 billion years ago. This was a point in history in which the quantity of free Oxygen which existed in the atmosphere increased by a breathtaking amount. Photosynthetic bacteria had been producing Oxygen on a grand scale for millions of years, it was only after this point that the minerals which had been absorbing the free oxygen — such as Iron, forming rust — became saturated and could absorb no more. Because of this increase a large proportion of organisms which could not survive in the presence of a large amount of Oxygen died; the presence of a higher proportion of Oxygen in the atmosphere meant that a great deal of Methane was converted into Carbon Dioxide — its counterpart with a lesser greenhouse effect — triggering an ice-age. Scientists argue over whether this period was indeed the largest extinction in the history of our Earth.

Like the Cyanobacteria which were producing the waste Oxygen during those years, humanity too is creating an extinction, except with fumes, particulate matter and greenhouse gasses. The comparison which can be made between us and those ancient photosynthetic organisms is an interesting one, however.

I hate to speak of an organism without it being present to defend its self, nevertheless, as far as I know, these creatures were tiny and non-sentient. While humanity is guilty of knowingly polluting the planet, these critters were unconscious of the extinction to which they gave rise. One might say, therefore, humanity’s crime is worse in that we know what we’re up to rather than the bacteria and fungi who had no idea.

This brings me to a common theme among the critics of humanity — they lament the scale of our species’ destruction and murder; environmental pollution and world wars. I take their point; but humanity, while we are remarkable because of the sophisticated means with which we are able to kill each other, is notable in the history of our planet in that we are conscious of the fact that we are doing so, both of what we are doing to the environment and to each other, and have taken action to address our these deeds.

I can  be pretty sure that there was no Greenpeace for Cyanobacteria, no Kyoto agreement on Oxygen pollution. It is a strange contradiction, humanity has developed cognitive abilities which allow us to see what we are doing to our environment, and to feel revulsion at wars and to develop green technology; but that at the same time it is this cognisance which enables us to develop more supreme and effective methods of killing and polluting. It is an antagonism on par with the nuclear deterrent.

Foremost, we are the only species which can comprehend its actions, and can therefore make amends. While in the history of Earth, great events such as the Great Oxygen Event lead to mass extinctions or to another species evolving to regain the balance, it is entirely possible for the Great Carbon Dioxide Event, courtesy of Homo Sapiens, to be averted by the species which caused it.