Geological history

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Shadow of extinction: Only six degrees separate our world from the cataclysmic end of an ancient era
By George Monbiot, The Guardian, Tuesday 1 July 2003. Three years ago a precise date for the end of the Permian was established, which enabled geologists to draw direct comparisons between the rocks laid down at that time in different parts of the world. A cataclysm caused by natural processes almost brought life on earth to an end. Human activities threaten to replicate those processes and could exert the same effect within our lifetimes.
Sleepwalking to extinction: something about the human mind appears to prevent us from grasping the reality of climate change
By George Monbiot, Guardian 12 August 2003. With a small rational part of the brain we recognise that our existence is governed by material realities, but underlying this awareness is the deep semi-consciousness which absorbs the moment in which we live then generalises it, projecting our future lives as repeated instances of the present. Climate change.
Collapse of the earth's magnetic field accelerates
New York Times, Monday 12 July 2004. The collapse of the earth's magnetic field, which both guards the planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to have started in earnest about 150 years ago.