New Scientist12 Jan 19_History of life_1

This was an excellent article. It laid out the sequence clearly and talked you through the various crises. I learnt that life generated methane warmed the planet, and when oxygen came along it wasn't the production that eliminated the carbon dioxide, but rather the reaction with methane that removed this beneficial green house warming. The inclusion of the cooling of the core, then plate tectonics, then erosion, then removal of carbon dioxide is also key.

The dates for complex life in the Cambrian explosion was interesting at 541 mya with the first land plants at 470 mya, land animals 440 mya with NBD non bird dinosaurs 250 mya.

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