Well personally I think the destruction of the dinasours counts much higher on the cataclysmic scale than anything you point out. Then comes the Bubonic Plague...then the widespread famine in the aftermath of the Laki volcano in 1768, but hej we were not around then so everything is soooo worse today. Check out life expectancy charts from the last couple of hundred years and see what you find out. Better still go onto a charity site like the Red Cross and see just what advances are being made even in areas that have been viewed as "behind".
What gets me is that humans only see what they want to see; if you want to see death and destruction you will find it everywhere, just look at the animal kingdom first. If you want to see positive advances; you will find them, get involved with a charity or a fundraising project.