5.0 out of 5 stars The (Mostly) Recovered World after We've Left

C. · April 11, 2014

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } No matter who you are or where you have lived, you have had an impact on the world, whether it is more global or local, immediate or delayed. When you compile the impact of the approximately 7 billion people alive today as well as the effect of all those that have lived before us, it amounts to many different consequences by our species, and everyday our impact increases. But what if we were all of a sudden gone? What if Homo sapiens no longer tread on the soil that we have so disturbed? What impact would we leave behind?Although Alan Weisman acknowledges that it is unlikely that our species will quickly perish, he still addresses this question in The World Without Us in order to more closely examine our environmental impact. Weisman examines human impact ranging from megafauna extinctions to genetically modified plants and from the altered composition of the atmosphere to what will happen to cities and nuclear plants when we leave. Unlike many authors that address human environmental impact, Weisman takes a surprisingly positive approach. Perhaps our impact may not be as lasting as many view it to be. In many of these chapters he does note that some things will last long after we have gone. Although, this does not appear to be his main focus.The book is well written, captivating, and definitely gives hope that Homo sapiens have not forever destroyed many aspects of the world. The atmosphere can return to normal despite the holes we have contributed to in the ozone layer. Forests can thrive even after we come through and displaced many species and harvest many trees. Despite these positive points, Weisman does some things that will last longer, but I find that Weisman fails to emphasize the fact that our impact will forever alter the world. The species that have gone extinct can never come back. Yes, extinction is a natural part of growth for the world, but many species have gone extinct primarily because of humans. At the same time I think of the fact that we must have an impact. There is no way for a species to have no impact. Each species on the planet affects many others both directly and indirectly.One example of when Weisman fails to bring concern is when he talks of the impact our production of plastics is having. We are not seeing plastics biodegrade. There is hope that something will develop the ability to degrade the plastics, but in the meantime it will continue to kill all sorts of wildlife as they ingest it. The rubber we use for tires also has yet to find something that can degrade it. Both rubber and plastic will likely be around long after Homo sapiens are gone and continue to affect the world we left behind. Yet, after reading these segments by Weisman, I did not feel incredibly compelled to minimize my use of plastic or rubber. Weisman does not seem to be rallying people against their negative environmental impact. Since humans will likely be around a long time, we need to work on lessening the impact that we have, and I found that Weisman did not emphasize this as I believe he should.Comparing Weisman to George Perkins Marsh, we find some things that at least appear to contradict each other. Marsh examines the balance that is a key part of nature. As humans expend resources, they don't come back as they were. Nature is not able to bring itself back to where it was. Weisman seems to find that nature can reflect what it was in the past, and he appears to find this acceptable. Perhaps this is all we can ever expect. It may be best that nature is not exactly as it was. It is ever changing and adjusting together with all its interconnected parts. Whatever the result, Weisman finds hope where many fail to.Weisman also alludes to human's desire to be remembered. We've sent off signals to try and contact other intelligent life, and we do our best to preserve our bodies that inevitably decay anyways. If you think about it, we all have a desire to be remembered by others, to do something which will have impact that will outlast our bodies. However, we want to make sure that what we leave does not doom the earth that housed us for so long.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting read

J.B. · December 2, 2007

What would happen if people disappeared? If we were just gone in an instant. What would happen to what we left behind, and how would nature cope with our absence? It's a hypothetical question, obviously, but it's the fascinating premise of this "thought experiment."The majority of the book is a tale of man-made objects falling apart, of nature healing and reclaiming the world, and of things returning to their natural state. Weisman examines a wide array of topics. He starts with our suburban homes, walking us through the process of them coming apart as windows crack and break and the roof begins to leak, allowing the elements to slowly break down the walls, the support structures, and eventually collapse the home, leaving little but the chimney a century later. This section, and much of the rest of the book, is an interesting look at how things are put together as much as how they come apart.The next section deals with cities. Weisman examines New York in particular, walking us through the failing of the unmanned pumps that keep the subways and roadways dry. It doesn't take long for the roads to become rivers and much of NYC to return to its natural, marshy state. With us gone, new animals migrate onto the island across the bridges (before they collapse) and animals that depend on us for survival--cockroaches, rats, house pets--die off. Eventually, without maintenance, the foundations corrode and the great sky-scrapers come down.Weisman takes us around the world, examining the ancient forest preserves of Eastern Europe to see what the flora was like before, and eventually after us. He uses the Eastern African Rift Valley to explain the fauna of an untouched ecosystem. And he takes an interesting look at the natural history of the Americas, where we once had more animals weighing over a ton than Africa does today.Much of the book is concerned with our more damaging blights on nature. What will happen to our oil fields? Our nuclear power plants? Our nuclear waste? To the incredible amount of plastic bottles, rubber tires, and other non-biodegradable trash that we've put into the ecosystem?Although some readers on Bolo have criticized the book for being yet another anti-human, pro-environment rant, it's far from that. Certainly there is an overarching environmental message, but by removing humans from the equation, Weisman eliminates the human vs. environment debate altogether. We aren't faced with tough sacrifices since we're not around. To me, it's more a book of very interesting trivia than preachy environmentalism. Still, people who refuse to believe that we owe anything to the earth or have a responsibility of stewardship may be offended by Weisman's suggestion that only an intentional reduction in our global birthrate and a more environmentally friendly approach to production and consumption can save us from our collision course with the inevitable. Our current lifestyle is simply not sustainable. But the main point of this book is less to remind us of that and more to carry the hopeful message that the earth is a living system, and in time it will recover from whatever abuse we dish out, if given the chance.

Excellent read

K.M. · May 11, 2017

(function() { P.when('cr-A', 'ready').execute(function(A) { if(typeof A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel === 'function') { A.toggleExpanderAriaLabel('review_text_read_more', 'Read more of this review', 'Read less of this review'); } }); })(); .review-text-read-more-expander:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid #2162a1; outline-offset: 2px; border-radius: 5px; } A very thoughtful and thought provoking book. It makes one think beyond our limited lives and on a cosmic scale about the past and future of human existence.

One of the most insightful views of a world where humans themselves play no part - only their legacy is of essence

a. · September 29, 2013

Alan Weisman's international bestseller The World Without Us has been widely acclaimed for its ability to carry its readers on a journey described by the Independent as `Flesh-creepingly good fun...an expert-led fantasia of the post human planet''. But pick up the book, absorb its contents and you will realize that the Independent was being modest in their appraisal of Weisman's love of detail. Detail, which if taken time to digest, will lead you to an epiphany. Here is a world, where the very last human on Earth is no more. `Look around you, at today's world' writes Weisman. `Your house, your city. The surrounding land, the pavement underneath, and the soil hidden below that. Leave it all in place but extract the human beings. Wipe us out and see what's left''.This thought- provoking scenario compels the reader to follow Weisman's string of consciousness which attempts to answer two fundamental questions. Would nature be forever impaired by our destructive practices or would it simply heal itself back to its pristine, pre-human state? Perhaps the only hint that once, we humans were, like many other species whose ancient skeletal frames are now carefully preserved in history museums across the globe, just transient guests in nature's abode. Perhaps the trace of our former presence embedded only in the faint glow of a surface scar, littered with thick cast iron and chromium alloys. But whilst such a prospect is bound to make readers fidget on their sofas uncomfortably, they're also given a light hearted image of fire hydrants, casually sprouting amidst cacti as one of the few remaining signs of `Earthly humanity'.Weisman predicts how other forms of life would adapt without the presence of humans by giving as prime example natural reserves and sanctuaries where human intervention has been minimal. Such places include Białowieża Forest, the Kingman Reef, and the Palmyra Atoll. He also approaches important figures, some of them like biologist E. O. Wilson in an attempt to foresee the return of native plants by looking into the spread of pre historic vegetation. In Weisman's view, megafauna would flourish whilst animals which constitute urban pests such as rats would die off from a lack of a continual supply of food that is plentiful in today's modern cities.The author uses the city of New York as an example of how nature would take over in almost no time, even over a developed urban area such as modern day New York. Weisman foresees how New York's roads will cave in as a result of underground streams flooding subway corridors and how native fauna and flora would slowly take over and out survive the invasive exotic species once brought forth by explorers insistent on diversifying the city's vegetation.But Weisman also looks at the suburban world, and assesses the impact of nature on abandoned middle class, residential homes. Yet again, the eroding power of water will damage the existent wood frames and rusting the metals to the point of collapse. 500 years later and all that'll remain out of a house once booming with human activity are dishwasher parts, stainless steel cookware and plastic handles that stubbornly persist in becoming part of our 21st century legacy.And yet, Weisman does not entirely embrace the notion that the world as a human construct is all doom and gloom. He delves into matters deep, as for instance when he raises the question of the legacy humans will have left behind and strives to reach a verdict in humanity's defence. Perhaps our impact on the natural environment and the planet as a whole has not been as detrimental, as it has changed the face of a planet, where someday our ancestral monuments will tell our story to an entirely new, and altogether different inhabitants.

Das Firmament blaut ewig

J.M. · April 17, 2009

Having read the article ,An Earth without People' about Mr. Weisman'sbook in the July 07 issue of Scientific American I got curious. Thebook turned out to be the most enthralling read I had that year. Itscore is a far-reaching thought experiment. The author poses thequestion: `What if all human beings vanished from the surface of theplanet?' This premise is the starting point of all other questionsraised. What would be left of us and for how long? How long wouldNature need to wipe out all traces left?This is a highly fascinating way of looking at our human achievements,which have changed the Earth's surface more drastically than everbefore in the history of Life. Many of our most imposing artefacts andmost of our infrastructures, that seem so indestructible to us, turnout to be fairly fragile structures which couldn't withstand theeverlasting forces of nature for long, once all humans were gone.Others of our latest and most formidable inventions, many of which didnot come into being until after World War II have a longevity that isalmost unpredictable. Indeed it becomes, more than once, all tooobvious what havoc we have already wreaked on Earth.The author approaches his project from many different perspectives.He has interviewed engineers and maintenance staff in New York Cityabout what it takes to hold off Nature,he has travelled throughoutthe world (Belorussia, Turkey, Korea, Kenya, Cyprus) talking tonatives and experts, looking for places that have already beenabandoned by humans, for he realized quickly, to understand apost-human world, he had to learn what the world was like beforehumans ever evolved. The results are most illuminating.Nothing lasts forever and one can hardly withstand the impression thatour species' mere presence on the planet is nothing but a temporalabnormality.

Saisissant

A.Q. · January 22, 2015

Les descriptions d'un monde sans hommes sont saisissantes de réalisme. On se sent pris d'un curieux sentiment à la lecture de ce livre: à la fois un effroi épouvantable, et une sérénité gênante. L'exploration d'un monde débarrassé de notre espèce et livré à lui-même, donne le vertige. Par moment on en vient à se réjouir d'imaginer que notre monde n'aura pas éternellement à nous subir, et que les choses retourneront à la normale lorsque nous ne serons plus là. Ce livre est utile à tout ceux qui réfléchissent au sujet de l'humanisme et de la place de l'homme dans la nature.

Interessantissimo

T.e.A. · July 21, 2021

Ho comprato questo libro dopo averne sentito parlare in un podcast, il concetto su cui si basa mi ha subito avvinto e la lettura è stata semplicemente piacevole e sempre interessante. L'autore esplora molti scenari e concetti, anche complessi, in maniera accessibile ed al contempo approfondita. Consigliatissimo!