Have you ever wondered how big an impact humanity has had on the planet? How long will it take to recover after humans die out? What will be left of us for future civilizations (or alien explorers) to find?
These are the questions explored by Alan Weisman in his book The World Without Us. He explores collapsed civilizations and abandoned towns. He visits interesting places all over the globe, from an ancient forest in eastern Europe to shrinking wildlife preserves in Africa to a giant whirlpool filled with garbage in the middle of the ocean. Throughout his explorations, he hypothesizes about what would happen if humans disappeared from the planet tomorrow.
I am not doing it justice, but it is really fascinating stuff. I'm not quite done yet, but I definitely recommend this book.
Friday, May 9, 2008
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2 comments:
Greg told me about this book some time ago, he indicated that I would enjoy reading it. Two recommendations now, hmm..might have to look for it at the library now!
I just finished it, and it's pretty good. I'd say get it from the library; I didn't love it enough to recommend buying it. Very interesting food for thought, though.
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