Mother Earth: A Bit of Perspective

[Guest guest]

this is wonderful...might i share it with another list, terrasoluna.org?

thanks, either way.

~shahara lefay

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

[Dear Shahara ...

 

Glad you liked it. Feel free to share. I'd just ask that you use the

version below, in which I've made a few small edits and corrections.]

 

A LIFE HISTORY OF MOTHER EARTH

 

Scientists estimate that the Universe began with a "Big Bang" (or

what Shaktas conceive as the Union of Shakti and Shiva) between 15

and 20 billion years ago. Our home planet, Mother Earth is 4.6

billion years old.

 

So how are we to respond to these figures? Well, we say: "Wow!

That's amazing!" Or, "Wow! That is really old!" How else can we

respond? A figure such as 4.6 billion years is simply too huge for

the human mind to casually grasp.

 

So let's put it into perspective. Let's move the decimal point and

scale 4.6 billion down by nine zeros to 46. And now let us close our

eyes and see Mother Earth (Bhudevi) as a stunningly beautiful woman

of 46 yrs. In that perspective, here is an overview of Her (and

our) "Life" history -- so far:

 

When She was age 11, the first living beings appeared on Earth;

single-celled organisms -- bacteria, protozoans, etc.

 

By the time She turned 21, the Earth's crust had formed, and the

oceans had filled. A decade and a half passed.

 

As She reached age 35, simple multi-celled animals began to appear in

the oceans (sponges, worms, etc.) Early continents were shifting

colliding as the planet's crust changed. This process continued

through Her 45th birthday.

 

About 6 months ago, the so-called "Cambrian Explosion" occurred, when

multi-celled life rapidly expanded and evolved in all the oceans.

But then came a setback: 5-1/2 months ago, the first mass extinction

(almost all multi-celled life) occurred for causes unknown.

 

5 months ago, the first fish appeared.

 

4 months ago, the first land plants began to grow and spread on the

rocky, barren face of the ancient continents.

 

By 3-1/2 months ago, the first forests had grown, and small reptiles

were scurrying about. Then, 3-1/4 months ago, came a second mass

extinction of species (killing most ocean life), again for causes

unknown.

 

3 months ago, spiders and cockroaches evolved, and the

surface of the Earth came to be dominated by the supercontinent now

known as "Pangea." 2-3/4 months ago, the third mass extinction

occurred (96% of all life on Earth died off) for causes unknown.

 

Life bounced back yet again as the first dinosaurs appeared, about 2-

1/2 months ago. Another mass extinction of life intervened, followed

by a second wave of dinosaurs, and the first birds -- just 2 months

ago.

 

The polar ice caps melted, massive global warming created a warm,

humid, boggy paradise for the giant lizards ... until they suddenly

went extinct about 2 weeks ago. (Scientists guess that their

disappearance may have been caused by a giant meteor slamming into

the Earth.)

 

In the meantime, the continents had formed into roughly their modern

configuration.

 

1-1/2 weeks ago, the rise of the mammals began, with primates

appearing approximately one week ago. The Grand Canyon also began

forming last week.

 

The last Ice Age began 6 days ago, but had balanced itself again by

about three days ago. Modern plants and animals appeared 2 days ago.

 

Anatomically modern humans appeared yesterday. They started the

Industrial Revolution 1 or 2 seconds ago. Barely a fraction of a

second has passed since they invented the combustion engine.

 

Sadhana, anyone?

 

DB

 

[The source for the timeline used in this post this was a chart I saw

a couple nights ago when I was reading a magazine called "KIDS

DISCOVER" (March 2004 issue) to my 5-year-old. The idea of

understanding geological time by translating it into human years came

from a high school textbook whose name I can't remember.]