The World Without us

I have just finished reading this amazing book. What happens to the earth when human beings disappear? Alan Weisman answer this question with this Time 2007 Nonfiction Book of the Year.

“...with pumps not working, the New York City subways would fill with water within days, while weeds and then trees would retake the buckled streets and wild predators would ravage the domesticated dogs. Texas’s unattended petrochemical complexes might ignite, scattering hydrogen cyanide to the winds—a "mini chemical nuclear winter." - The New Yorker.

It's not a fiction book with stories on the apocalypse but more like a detailed scientific publication. Sometimes the author got lost in details that didn't really interested me but still, you can expect to learn a lot from this very vivid reportage. Fascinating.

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Some random personal notes from the book:

“The problem is, by tapping the Carboniferous Formation and spewing it up into the sky, we've become a volcano that hasn't stopped erupting since the 1700s.
Eventually, the geologic cycle will take CO2 back to the prehuman levels. That will take about 100,000 years or longer.”

“...African fauna have learned that massing in large flocks makes it harder for predators to isolate and catch a single animal, and assures that some are available to scout for danger while others feed. A zebra stripes help it befuddle lions by getting lost in a crowded optical illusion.”

“Nearly 12 percent of the planet's landmass is cultivated, compared to about 3 percent occupied by towns and cities. When grazing land is included, the amount of Earthly terrain dedicated to human food is production is more than one-third of the world's land surface.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derinkuyu_Underground_City