Extinction Momentum and the Critical Band

Every now and then, I come across a post that I enjoy so much I feel obligated to direct people to it with a minimum of comment. This is such a post. It comes from the blog End of the World News, with which I'm not terribly familiar, but is very entertaining. While it might come across as a touch alarmist and melodramatic, the writing is excellent and the material is though provoking.

Snip:

What a strange sort of specie we are. As all others got bigger teeth, sharper claws, and quicker strides, we managed to tool our way out of the natural reject pile, in turn usurping the top spot of the predatory chain through a cognitive back door. How fitting, then, for our string-tied stones and sticks to themselves evolve to such beasts of devices, able to crater mountains at the push of a button. Like an animal enlarging its own teeth, sharpening its own claws, we have actively re-endowed our own ferocity, so much as to exceed the scope of possible targets. I dare say an animal that could claw the world in two so fairly might.