Herself’s Houston Garden

This time starts 3 million years ago and leads us into the age of humans. The world is still cooling at the start of this time, but that gives way to global warming. The world cools and the world warms several times in this period. Ice ages last about 100,000 years, followed by about 100,000 of global warming as the earth wobbles in its travels about the sun. The continents are pretty much where they are today.

Neaderthals appear about 250,000 years back. Homosapiens about 180,000 years ago. Our earliest cave paintings are about 30,000 years old, which is when our Neaderthals disappear, and the ice begins to retreat and continues to do so to this day.

The last ice age ends about 10,000 years ago. As the world warms the first farms appear about 6500 years after ago.

Flowering seed bearing plants are spreading rapidly. At 30 million years back herbaceous plants with flowers show up. They can better handle changing seasons.

Pine trees, grape vines, oaks and spruces are spreading.

Insects and plants are co-evolving together. Our first nectar eating birds and bats appear. Plants that were fertilized by wind give way to insect fertilizing plants. Some grasses and trees revert back to wind fertilization.

See also:
Milankovitch Cycles and Glaciation

While the planet certainly does not lack in water, it does lack in fresh water in useful places. In time we will be desalinizes and piping water where ever we need it. In the meantime researchers are developing plants that can handle drier climates.

A part of the global food crisis is the inefficiency of current irrigation methods. More irrigated water evaporates than reaches the roots of crops, amounting to an enormous waste of water and energy.

Tel Aviv University researchers, however, are investigating a new solution that turns the problem upside-down, getting to the root of the issue. They are genetically modifying plants’ root systems to improve their ability to find the water essential to their survival. [ read more Genetically Modified Root Systems Result In Plants That Survive With Little Water]

On an up note, if global warming is really happening, the climate should get wetter as it gets warmer, perhaps negating the need for any of this. But why wait?

This period begins about 65 million years ago and ends about 3 million years back. The continents continue to spread. Mammals continue to grow in size and number and diversity. Birds are flourishing. The world is warm and humid as far north as what is now the Arctic sea.

Palms, laurels, vines, citrus plants are flourishing. We have oaks and beeches. Our water lilies are again doing well.

But like most periods the climate changes. Warm weather gives way to colder weather. Ice sheets form at the poles dropping down the level of the ocean. Tropical jungles are retreating and temperate forests of oaks and maples are gaining ground.

Our first plains and prairies appear soon followed by our first grasses. Not long after grass eating mammals appear. This era is the age of grasses.

Now the world gets drier, forests begin to decline like the jungles did a bit earlier. The world is both colder and drier and grasses take this opportunity to expand out.