The World Without Us

The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman (2007)

Weisman sets out to examine what would happen to the earth and its natural systems if humans were suddenly gone from the planet. From the beginning, it is a fascinating proposition: what are the consequences of human activity and what vestiges of human existence will last far beyond our time on the planet?

To answer the question of how the earth would fare without us, the author explores what humans are doing to the planet now. Weisman uses the example of 30-year-old abandoned buildings in Varosha, a resort on the island of war-torn Cyprus, to predict what will become of the architecture that man has constructed.

Far more worrisome are the toxic hotspots that we will leave behind. Some of the chemicals used to create bombs, missiles, and other destructive hardware will endure for hundreds of thousands of years, if not longer. The world’s 441 nuclear reactors have produced spent uranium fuel rods that have a half-life of 4.5 billion years. Incredibly, animals have returned to places such as the Chernoybl site in Ukraine, and there is evidence that nature is already finding ways to adapt to new realities.

What could become of facilities such as petroleum refineries as well as the nuclear plants is covered here. If abandoned, the nuclear facilities would certainly overheat and spill radioactivity into the air, a sequence of events that would have consequences for the planet—and all of its remaining inhabitants—for the rest of its existence.

Expertly researched and written, Weisman’s effort is aided by a number of naturalists, engineers, and other experts throughout. The author has done an excellent job of presenting scientific issues in a way that the layman can read and appreciate. This book should have a place in all library collections. Strongly recommended.