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The World Without Us |
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by Alan Weisman
At least once a year, a new book appears that is so well written and readable, digs into its subject so deeply and expertly, and has such a great chance for a significant impact on human thinking that in my excitement I share this book with as many friends and acquaintances as possible, usually by making it the holiday gift of the year. This year that book is The World Without Us.
Alan Weisman, a gifted master storyteller (even his acknowledgements are fascinating little stories), has imagined what would happen on Earth if humans all suddenly disappeared. What will last? What will not? What will be the short- and long-term effects on other species?
The author, utilizing the expertise of engineers, chemists, biologists, ornithologists, oil professionals, and many others, examines scenarios from all over the planet. He starts with our own towns and cities, describing, for example, how quickly New York City would succumb to the elements if humans left (every day 753 pumps drive 13 million gallons of water from the subways of New York City; imagine if the pumps stopped). Many of the places visited are fascinating yet not well known, like the abandoned Cypriot “Riviera” of Varosha, the underground villages of Cappadocia, Turkey, and the forest primeval preserve between Poland and Belarus. We see areas where humans have already vanished (like Varosha or the DMZ in Korea) and learn what has happened to the wildlife, plants, and land in the interim, or places where humans have been continually excluded, like the preserve in Poland, and what will happen next if humans disappear altogether. There are also many descriptions of what may happen to human constructs such as the Panama Canal, architectural wonders, and other works of art.
Some human impacts brought to light in The World Without Us are not often in our media and are therefore fairly easy to ignore while we carry on our daily lives. After you read this book, it will be hard to forget about the eternal persistence of plastics, the death of millions of birds each year, or the legacy of nuclear power and industrial farming. In some instances, situations would dramatically and quickly improve if humans were to disappear; in others, like at nuclear power plants, disasters would occur without humans around to forestall them, and dangerous effects will persist in some instances for thousands of years.
A value of imagining this human-less world is that by surmising about the future, we learn about our present. Alan Weisman is not on a soapbox; he writes in a thoughtful, well-researched, calm manner. He has not written a how-to-fix-it book, but by holding up a mirror to our current situation, he encourages the reader to consider our far-reaching impacts on the Earth. Illuminating our serious problems may lead to positive corrections in our behavior. Mr. Weisman does offer one suggestion: if all women were to have only one child, our current population of 6.5 billion would be 5.5 billion by 2050, 3.43 billion by 2075, and 1.6 billion by 2100. We would not disappear, but our pressure on the Earth’s eco-systems would be a lot less.
Do yourself and the world a favor and read The World Without Us. You will learn many amazing facts about our planet and the role of humans, and you will be challenged not only to look to the future, but also to the present. You will find yourself caught up in considering the big picture and possible futures. As the Smithsonian’s Doug Erwin says, “The only real prediction you can make is that life will go on. And that it will be interesting.”
Reviewed by Ann Guthals, Billings, Montana (M.A. in zoology, food co-op manager for 12 years, officer of Yellowstone Valley Citizens Council, concerned citizen of planet Earth)
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