The Great Dying, a catastrophic event in Earth's history, serves as a stark warning for our current climate crisis. This mass extinction, which occurred around 250 million years ago, was triggered by a series of massive volcanic eruptions, leading to global climate change and the demise of 96% of marine species. The author argues that understanding this event can help us grasp the impacts of climate change in our present era. However, the urgency of the current climate predicament often fails to register as a mass panic, as it is presented in vague fragments without a clear conclusion. The author criticizes the way climate narratives are curated, often by the oil industry, which influences public perception and leads to a sense of complacency. The Permian extinction event provides an analogy for the present risks and probabilities of catastrophic climate heating. The author emphasizes the speed at which our current extinction event is unfolding, which is exponentially faster than the Permian extinction. The study of the end-Permian strata reveals a probable destiny if capitalism's environmental program continues on its current trajectory. The author also highlights the speed of human-caused climate change, which is outpacing natural systems of remediation and compensation. The current environmental crisis is not just about greenhouse gases; it also involves a host of toxic substances that offer parallel methods of lethal assault. The author concludes that mass awareness of geological history is crucial to saving our planet from the cult of oil and technology, and that climate journalists have a great task ahead in educating the public about the urgency of the climate crisis.
