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The World Without Us

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The World Without Us

By: Alan Weisman
Narrated by: Adam Grupper
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

'On the day after humans disappear, nature takes over and immediately begins cleaning house - or houses, that is. Cleans them right off the face of the earth. They all go.'

What if mankind disappeared right now, forever...what would happen to the Earth in a week, a year, a millennium? Could the planet's climate ever recover from human activity? How would nature destroy our huge cities and our myriad plastics? And what would our final legacy be?

Speaking to experts in fields as diverse as oil production and ecology, and visiting the places that have escaped recent human activity to discover how they have adapted to life without us, Alan Weisman paints an intriguing picture of the future of Earth. Exploring key concerns of our time, this absorbing thought experiment reveals a powerful - and surprising - picture of our planet's future.

©2008 Alan Weisman (P)2021 Penguin Audio Biological Sciences Earth Sciences Environment Science Solar System Ecosystem
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A realy good book that that is about our planet's past today, and perhaps its future. Also full of interesting and sometimes sad information on what is happening to our environment.
I would recommend this title to those who want to have an idea of what might happen if we disappear and also learn a bit about the history of earth.

Fascinating

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Imagine what the world would be like if humans disappeared tomorrow. Weisman, with the help of numerous experts walks us through history, the present state of the planet, and speculation on the future.

Fascinating

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I have long been fascinated and worried about the future of life and the Earth given our current predicament with environmental issues and the likelihood that my grandchildren (yet to be born) will have to live with the consequences of mine and my grandparents choices regarding the use of the Earth’s resources. This book has not lessened that worry nor fascination. It is a good dove tail to The Knowledge by Lewis Dartnell which proposes a similar thought experiment but instead of no humans he works with a reduction of the population to about 5 to 10% and writes about the process of re-inventing our current standard of living. What this book provides that Mr Dartnell did not was a more realistic view of the world without us, particularly the impact of nuclear power stations going rogue! Mr Weisman details the devastation our chemical abandon will leave with the creation of forever toxins only the swelling sun will return to elements. He also shows places that exist now where humans have left and what that means for the future part hope and part oh sh….t! While we may make the planet a wasteland for ourselves and other vertebrates, life will continue that is assured, just not us, something our descendants will need to grapple with. If you listen think of the daily habits you have that may add to the condition of the planet of the nonhuman future. For me it is plastics yet to find a way to extract them from my daily routine…. Ideas anyone?

Opposite to The Knowledge

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.