Life After Humans

[Trekker4747]

There's been two specials I've come across over the last few months dealing on what would happen to our little planet post humans. The first was on Discovery back in, I think January or February the other was on NatGeo the other night.

After seeing them both, both which were great specials, I think I liked the NatGeo one better. It was a bit darker, talking about how our Nuclear Power plants would fail and it also talked about how relics on Luna would remain there for eternity.

Anyone else catch these specials? What did you think of them if you did?

 

[Daedalus12]

Never seen those specials but if you are interested in such subject then I recommend Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon.

 

[Icon]

The world is a better place because humans are in it.

 

[Unicron]

Discovery also aired The Future is Wild at one point, which I taped because I enjoyed. It was about some possible evolutions of modern species, when the Earth's environment has changed significantly over time and humans (along with other current species) are extinct.

 

[Trekker4747]

The world is a better place because humans are in it.

Errrr. No.

 

[Starbreaker]

Sounds like something I'd be very interested in, unless there is 30 minutes of footage and 15 minutes of recaps for people who are just tuning in after the commercial break. I'll look for them online...

 

[EnsignRicky]

I like the failing nuclear reactor angle. There's something comforting about knowing that we'll still be destroying the planet long after we're gone.

 

[IJD GAF]

I think you might be referring to The History Channel's program which I believe had the same title as your thread. It was an interesting special, but as much as I can ascertain, it's more or less a complete rip-off. There was a book out a year or so ago called The World Without Us which dealt with exactly the same subject. I've been meaning to amazon it for a few months now, but spare time is tough and I seem to keep finding other things to spend money on. It's a pretty good deal on Amazon though, and what I've read of it at bookstores seems hell of interesting.

 

[Aragorn]

With disposable diapers becoming the fifth layer of the planet, everything will change.

 

[Cutter John]

I sat throuhg most of the History Channel show, and to be honest, it just wasn't very good.

 

[Bloodwhiner]

I saw the Nat Geo program and it was quite good. It traced only a few major cities though. I would have liked to have seen how some other structures would have fared - like the pyramidsl

 

[Trekker4747]

I saw the Nat Geo program and it was quite good. It traced only a few major cities though. I would have liked to have seen how some other structures would have fared - like the pyramidsl

The DISC channel seemed to suggest that although erosion would partially bury the Pyramids and Sphinx in sand and wear them away it's one of the monuments that'd stick around for a very long time.

Mt. Rushmore is a monument that'll also be around forever in some form. Plastic devices, like cell phones, though burried will be around forever. So if someone else evolved or came to Earth there'd be plenty of evidence of our exsistance even though all of our cities would be long gone after a few hundred years.

 

[God Magnus]

Whoa, while doing some googling I found out they actually produced a "The Future is Wild" animated series! http://kids.discovery.com/fansites/futureiswild/futureiswild.html

 

[Christopher]

I just got the book The World Without Us from the library and I'm in the process of reading it. The writing style isn't the best, and I think the author sometimes has too much of a political agenda (it's an agenda I pretty much agree with, but I think more objectivity and less polemic would be appropriate here). Also, it doesn't follow a linear chronology like the Discovery Channel special did, more like focusing on individual topics (like what would happen to an individual house or to New York City) and summarizing it over the long term.

Most interesting thing I've learned from the book so far: Ceramics are chemically similar to fossils, and thus should survive indefinitely. Glass is also virtually indestructible, and bronze and heavy cast iron structures can last a very long time. The Pyramids may be outlived by fire hydrants, so long as those hydrants are buried.

 

[Mistral]

Saw Life After Humans and it was ok but they kept repeating the CGI shots of things falling down. It got very annoying.

 

[zenophite]

The world is a better place because humans are in it.

that's a laugh.

 

[Kegek]

The world is a better place because humans are in it.

Errrr. No.

It's better for us that we're in it.

 

[zenophite]

The world is a better place because humans are in it.

Errrr. No.

It's better for us that we're in it.

that's more like it!

 

[Pegaritaville]

I think you might be referring to The History Channel's program which I believe had the same title as your thread. It was an interesting special, but as much as I can ascertain, it's more or less a complete rip-off. There was a book out a year or so ago called The World Without Us which dealt with exactly the same subject. I've been meaning to amazon it for a few months now, but spare time is tough and I seem to keep finding other things to spend money on. It's a pretty good deal on Amazon though, and what I've read of it at bookstores seems hell of interesting.

I'm currently reading The World Without Us. I decided to buy it after seeing the History Channel program. I also watched the NatGeo one: I thought it was better, substance-wise, but I didn't care for the presentation itself. With all of the zooming around, I kind of got a headache trying to watch it.

 

[zenophite]

I think you might be referring to The History Channel's program which I believe had the same title as your thread. It was an interesting special, but as much as I can ascertain, it's more or less a complete rip-off. There was a book out a year or so ago called The World Without Us which dealt with exactly the same subject. I've been meaning to amazon it for a few months now, but spare time is tough and I seem to keep finding other things to spend money on. It's a pretty good deal on Amazon though, and what I've read of it at bookstores seems hell of interesting.

I'm currently reading The World Without Us. I decided to buy it after seeing the History Channel program. I also watched the NatGeo one: I thought it was better, substance-wise, but I didn't care for the presentation itself. With all of the zooming around, I kind of got a headache trying to watch it.

what the heck is NatGeo?

EDIT: never mind I just realized that this is Gen-X-ish for "National Geographic"....