There have been six major (and many minor) extinction events on earth since the evolution of multicellular life on the earth more than 500 million years ago (MYA).

The reasons given for these major extinction events have been many. These many reasons are still put forth by different groups of scientists, with no clear answer emerging for any one major extinction, much less for all of them.

I believe that all of the major extinctions and most of the minor extinctions can be explained by the same phenomenon. This explanatory phenomenon is: The natural kinetic effects of a cosmic impact on the planet earth.

However, it is not the impact site of the cosmic impact that causes the biggest part of the extinction event. Rather, it is the devastating, sustained and explosive volcanism that results at the antipode (the exact opposite side of the earth) of the impact site that does the most damage. This book introduces a new theory of antipodal impact effects, called Ben's Antipodal Theory, that will explain the mechanisms that cause both the geological features created during and after big impacts and how those geological features cause extinction events. The appendices will provide even more details.

I will present compelling evidence that the volcanism of the Deccan traps in India actually WAS at the antipode of the Chicxulub impact site 65 MYA (even though no one has previously been able to show compelling evidence of India being located at this site).

This is an ambitious book. It seeks to explain the formation of continents, hotspots, trenches, island arcs and tectonic movements in novel ways.

This book hypothesizes the proposition that kinetic energy transfer from large cosmic impacts causes most of the phenomena listed above. This book proposes that most of the important results of large impacts occur at and near the antipode of the impact site.

The most recent big impact (65 MYA at Chicxulub) and its resulting antipodal effect (the Indian continent) serve as the primary evidence. However, there is also evidence from the Permian extinction 250 MYA (the Siberian continent as the antipodal result see Appendix I) and the Chesapeake Bay impact 35.5 MYA (resulting in volcanism along the eastern side of Australia). Appendices II, III and IV present evidence of impacts creating the Western Antarctica Continent 214 MYA, the Eastern North American Continent 202 MYA and the South American Continent 132 MYA.

This book proposes the idea that continents are uplifted on the opposite side of the earth during a really big cosmic impact. Because of the directional nature of the impacts (most impacts occur at 30 degree to 45 degree angles to vertical), the resulting continental shape is "a blob with a tail."

The directional nature of the impact induces forward motion in those newly formed continents and also in antipodal hotspots that are not powerful enough to thrust up a continent. Further reflection on this matter leads to the idea that continental movement may actually be more influenced by the off-center nature of the impact. See "Sidespin" in Appendix VII.

Trenches are created as the earth is ripped apart by passing plates and mini-plates resulting from the antipodal effect of the impact.

This book will create a complete picture of the Chicxulub antipodal "smoking gun." It will identify and explain all of the components of the smoking gun for several other impacts, as well, including a complete picture of the creation of Siberia, Western Antarctica, Eastern North America and South America. The Appendices will also give reasons to believe that the other major extinctions have similar characteristics, even though specific components of the smoking gun for each event may be shrouded (or eroded or subducted) in the mists of time.

This book will also propose a new mechanism for determining the movement of plates and continents on earth over the millennia, much like Cepheid variable stars are used in astronomy to measure distance. Since this book will show conclusively that India was NOT where it supposedly was 65 MYA according to the Standard Theory, it stands to reason that some other modeling projections of plate tectonic movement may be incorrect, also. The new mechanism may help to solve that problem.

This book will list and explore several geological phenomena that are better explained by Ben's Antipodal Theory than by the current Standard Theory.

Lastly, this book will make the case for man and his modern technology as the only true answer to the question of the ecological survival of this planet.