The Halls of the Children of Earth

There have been several mass extinctions in the past. But a mechanism for these extinctions has not been proven. Here is my take on it.

It is commonly agreed that we are in the midst of a mass extinction right now. It started some 20,000 years ago and continues today. In geologic terms this is a mere fraction of a second in time. Research has proven that the asteroid that is blamed for killing the dinosaurs was 100,000 years too late to kill any dinos. Any mass extinction takes tens of thousands of years and is marked by a slow decline of large animals at first, followed by the smaller animals in a snowball type effect.

We are at the small animal part of the extinction and as before, the decline is accelerating to a crescendo.

When that happens, what will give DNA that "push" to begin making new forms of animals?

Could it be Fukishima?

It is very possible the cycle goes like this:

Animals diversify and take over the planet and every 100,000,000 years or so one animal gains sentience and culture. They begin to alter their environment and rid themselves of large predators. The extinction cycle begins and accelerates as the dominant intelligence reaches our current level of civilization.

The inevitable nuclear accident always happens towards the end of the extinction event. This radioactivity gives the impetus to the animal life to mutate and change. Slowly, over tens of thousands of years new creatures take their places in their various niches and the cycle begins anew.

Sometimes the sentient race at the time decides to leave the Earth and settle on other planets. They do so and return here once in a while to visit "home" and see how the place has changed. This would explain the mantids, the reptilians, and the greys. That being insect, reptile and amphibian intelligences that have graduated and left Earth behind.

Our turn is coming up fast. In the next few thousand years we will have the choice to either die out and make way for the new comers, or leave and find a new home among the stars and take our place in the hall of the children of Earth.