The greatest mass extinction event in Earth’s history. Something caused out planet’s life support systems to fail, wiping out most of the species on Earth. ibid.
253 million years ago … This is Pangea, a super-continent rich with life. Coastal waters team with weird and wonderful creatures. ibid.
The crust fails. The landscape physically torn apart as lava flood on to the surface forming great curtains of fire. This is just beginning of the most deadly volcanic event in Earth’s history … A series of explosions that went on for two million years. ibid.
That magma begins to heat up the coal and salt to a temperature of 800 degrees Celsius. A poisonous cocktail of gasses begins to build until the land above can take no more. ibid.
For life to bounce back the planet needed to cool down. ibid.
A massive tsunami of ice cascading down the valley. Try to imagine that though not just happening here but happening all over the world. Well 700 million years ago that’s exactly what did happen. Ferocious forces created a climate emergency, and across pole to pole, across all the lands and oceans, our world froze. Chris Packham, Earth II: Snowball
Just as the earliest forms of animal life were unfolding, the ice threatened to destroy them. ibid.
The Deep Freeze saw a new age on Earth, an age of complex life. ibid.
Earth is the only planet in the solar system to have active tectonic plates. And they are constantly reshaping our world and its life. ibid.
Falling levels of carbon dioxide pushed down temperatures. ibid.
When it gets cold the web of life unravels. ibid.
Today ice covers a tenth of all the land of the planet. ibid.
A frozen white marble floating in the darkness of space. ibid.
It never got above freezing anywhere on the planet. ibid.
Snowball Earth was an unprecedented assault on our planet … Through it all, life survived. ibid.
Plants rose from the oceans to conquer a hostile and alien land, fighting and evolving through triumph and disaster. Chris Packham, Earth III: Green
The story of plants begins deep in Earth’s ancient history four billion years ago when the planet was an inhospitable world. ibid.
Fungi and plants had come together to produce the first complex terrestrial ecosystem. ibid.
Leaves did far more than just allow plants to harvest more carbon dioxide; they made photosynthesis more efficient which boosted energy. ibid.
Wherever I am in the world if I can find some space I can look up at this big blue pristine space … The atmosphere is essential for the Earth to be habitable at all … This atmosphere has been the planet’s great protector for two and a half billion years. Chris Packham, Earth IV: Atmosphere
So meteorites like this weren’t just the building blocks of our planet, they contained the essential ingredients for its atmosphere. ibid.
Trillions of bacteria are spread across the ancient oceans. And the waste oxygen they throw away is enough to build a new atmosphere for our planet. ibid.
8 bison drawn on this cave wall … we see primitive horses … ibex … absolutely sensational … This is about our history. Earth V: Human
The world of the dinosaurs was destroyed making way for the rise of the mammals. It’s a tale of turmoil and upheaval. ibid.
We were going to be a significantly powerful force … We’ve radically altered life on the planet. ibid.
When it came to the dinosaurs only a handful hung on to evolve into the 10,000 or so species of bird we have today. ibid.