In addition to the Five Great Species Extinction Events of the last 3.2 billion years of biological pre-human history, the human species itself has at least once previously almost gone extinct. It occurred about 72,000 years ago. This incident has been called the Great Evolutionary Bottleneck.
Here is what happened. A super-volcano called Toba erupted and blocked the sun for about 6 years. It also covered the earth with 6 inches of ash.
Because of this super-volcanic eruption global temperature was dramatically lowered. This super-volcano related temperature lowering was also on top of the pre-existing temperature lowering effects of an already existing Ice Age.
In the cold and darkened skies humanity as a whole was reduced down to as little as 1,000 breeding pairs. (Some research suggests even less super-volcano eruption survivors made it. Maybe as few as 200 mating pairs was all that survived of humanity.)
This super-volcano eruption has been called an evolutionary bottleneck because the total early global human population went from an estimated 18-26,000 individuals to 1,000 or less individual pairs with reproductive capabilities. That is about a 90% reduction in total global population. If some other catastrophe such as a viral or bacterial epidemic or other natural disaster would have also occurred at the same time as this super-volcano destabilized climate related mass population reduction, humanity itself might not have made it at all through this first evolutionary bottleneck and would have gone extinct.
Up until now, the Toba super-volcano incident has been the greatest single challenge to the survival of the whole of the human species. Unfortunately, today we are facing a new and far greater challenge. It is different yet in some ways similar to what we call the Second Great Evolutionary Bottleneck.
Our Second Great Evolutionary Bottleneck contains a different climate threat from the super-volcano related increasing colder temperatures of the first Great Evolutionary Bottleneck. Our Second Great Evolutionary Bottleneck is being brought about because of the increasing greenhouse gas effect of the toxic carbon and methane atmospheric pollution and their consequent average global temperature warming effects.
This increasing warming is causing a massive global destabilization of our climate from its previously existing fairly stable temperature, climate range and dynamic equilibrium to some new unknown temperature, climate range and dynamic equilibrium that may not be suitable for the survival of anything close to the 7 billion plus people alive today. The final unknown new temperature, climate range and new dynamic equilibrium caused by our current climate destabilization may not even be suitable for preserving ANY the human species over time.
This means that together we are now facing the world’s greatest challenge in the form of the Second Great Evolutionary Bottleneck for humanity and the Sixth Great Extinction event for all life on earth. This is the greatest adventure in history!
More is a stake for the survival and well being of all of humanity and all of Earth’s life than ever before. If we are going to come through this adventure at all, more has to be done by more people cooperating at levels never achieved before in less time than on any other project organized in human history. Could anything be a more exciting challenge and adventure?
“The ultimate measure of a person is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
To prevent this Second Great Evolutionary Bottleneck (or even a full extinction of the human race,) we must collectively and immediately act. We do this by becoming informed and active individual participants and by actually resolving this new greatest challenge and adventure of human history.
The way we can do this most effectively is laid out fully within the Job One for Humanity Climate Re-Stabilization Plan.