Introduction
Expanding Earth is the fringe geological theory that the planet is increasing in volume—causing the continents to drift apart and reshaping the world over millions of years. While dismissed by most scientists in favor of plate tectonics, the theory’s adherents believe there’s a cover-up by mainstream geology, oil companies, and even governments. To them, Expanding Earth is not just a theory, but a forbidden paradigm that threatens to upend everything from paleontology to energy policy.
Origins
The idea can be traced to 19th-century scientists like Alfred Wegener (of continental drift fame) and Samuel Warren Carey, who suggested that expansion could explain the jigsaw fit of continents and the mid-ocean ridges. Modern supporters point to deep-sea evidence, fossil records, and satellite data as proof, but most geologists argue these are misinterpretations or cherry-picked anomalies.
The Expanding Earth Conspiracy
Proponents claim that powerful institutions suppress the theory because it undermines fossil fuel timelines, questions scientific authority, and hints at a radically different past—and possibly future—for humanity. Some tie the theory to lost civilizations, ancient maps, and a cosmological battle over the planet’s true nature.
Core Principles and Beliefs
- Global Growth: The Earth is increasing in volume, causing tectonic movement.
- Suppressed Evidence: Geological, paleontological, and satellite data supporting expansion are suppressed.
- Implications for History: An expanding Earth suggests a lost history of continents, climates, and civilizations.
Controversies and Criticism
Most experts reject Expanding Earth for lack of a credible mechanism—plate tectonics remains the standard model. Detractors call the theory pseudoscience, but for believers, such resistance only proves the power of scientific dogma and institutional control.
Key Examples
- The work of Samuel Warren Carey and Neal Adams’s popular animations.
- Claims of fossil discoveries at “impossible” altitudes.
- The “Great Dying” and other mass extinction events reinterpreted as expansion-related.
Critical Analysis
Expanding Earth persists because it offers a radical alternative to accepted science—appealing to contrarians, lost world seekers, and anyone who suspects the official story is incomplete.
Influential Literature: Pro & Contra
- Samuel Warren Carey – “The Expanding Earth” – Elsevier, 1976.
- Brian Regal – “Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia” – Greenwood, 2009.
- Ted Nield – “Supercontinent: Ten Billion Years in the Life of Our Planet” – Harvard, 2007.