Sixth Mass Extinction

The Sixth Mass Extinction, or the Second Great Dying, was an event during which the majority of complex life on Earth died out.

Causes and Aftermath
It is unclear exactly when the sixth mass extinction began, but it was primarily driven by humans through artificial climate change due to expansion of industry under global capitalism. Rapid consumption of resources followed by massive pollution and a catastrophic rise in global temperature led to the extinction of many species, especially large vertebrates and super-specialized organisms. By 2150 CE humans had died out entirely, their governments having dissolved and conventional agriculture no longer being possible. A hothouse Earth put pressure on other populations for an extended period with recovery continuing until about 10 million years later.

Additional engineered organisms contributed to, but did not primarily drive, the mass extinction, including engineered cyanobacterial growth and the selective breeding of plastic insects, modified Darkling beetles which would eventually diversify into a new order of insects.