If you came down off the high of Earth Day celebrations this weekend feeling a little gloomy about our planet, know you are not alone. It’s easy to see the headlines warning of extreme weather events, unprecedented global warming, rising sea levels, and disappearing permafrost and not think humans have screwed themselves. But Earth is a planet in a vast cosmos. Our planet has been through many changes and life has persisted here — and perhaps elsewhere in the Solar System, too.
