Future History?

[Kyuuketsuki]

This was mentioned over at another forum I drift by from time to time, not exactly history but it might one day be:

History.Com: Life After People

Anyway it's become a television show (presumably on the History channel) and here's the Intro gumpf:

LIFE AFTER PEOPLE: The Series begins in the moments after people disappear. As each day, month, and year passes, the fate of a particular environment, city or theme is disclosed. Special effects, combined with interviews from top experts in the fields of engineering, botany, biology, geology, and archeology provide an unforgettable visual journey through the ultimately hypothetical.

As modern metropolises like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC are ravaged by nature; the series exposes the surprising insights about how they function today. Basing this futuristic world on the surprising history of real locations, already abandoned by man, like a century-old shack in the arctic and an abandoned island that was once the most densely populated place on earth are featured in the series.

In every episode, viewers will witness the epic destruction of iconic structures and buildings, from the Sears Tower, Astrodome, and Chrysler Building to the Sistine Chapel - - allowing viewers to learn how they were built and why they were so significant. Big Ben will stop ticking within days; the International Space Station will plummet to earth within a few short years, while historic objects, like the Declaration of Independence and the mummified remains of King Tutankhamen will remain for decades.

The series will also explore the creatures that might take our place. With humans gone, animals will inherit the places where we once lived. Elephants that escape from the LA zoo will thrive in a region once dominated by their ancestors, the wooly mammoth. Alligators will move into sub-tropical cities like Houston  feeding off household pets. Tens of thousands of hogs, domesticated for food, will flourish. In a world without people, new stories of predators, survival and evolution will emerge.

Humans won't be around forever, and now we can see in detail, for the very first time, the world that will be left behind in Life After People: The Series.

There's a fair bit to watch but I figure it could make for a half-decent discussion.

Kyu

[g-mark]

Excellent documentary. It is interesting that not much of the 'modern' World will be left after 500 years. The stone structures may still be there, but most modern structures will corrode and leave no trace.
Even the concrete will fall to pieces.

[leo-rcc]

I hope History Channel in Europe will transmit this series soon.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

I've seen the documentary and found it gratifying to learn that it's unlikely we've done any permanent damage to the environment.

Even the concrete will fall to pieces.

Just shows how far we have NOT come. The Romans invented concrete. (including a kind which sets under water). Many of their concrete structures have survived splendidly.. EG The Pantheon in Rome.Many Roman buildings were built of brick faced concrete.

I'm not sure but I suspect Roman concrete lasted longer because unlike today,they did not use massive steel reinforcements,which will rust if exposed to air. The rust eventually causes the concrete to disintegrate.

[Kyuuketsuki]

I've seen the documentary and found it gratifying to learn that it's unlikely we've done any permanent damage to the environment.

Yeah ... some alarmist types go on about how we're destroying the planet only we're not, we're actually destroying ourselves and once we're gone the planet will shrug briefly and move one, something else will replace us (and the things we've destroyed) in due course.

Kyu

[g-mark]

This is true, but what about the species of plant and animal we destroy in the mean time?

Have we the right to destroy other species?

Have you heard of the term slowball earth. Apparently, if too much ice melts too quick, it will create an ice age that will encompass the whole planet. Because the ice will reflect the suns rays, it will never thaw. Hence the term slowball earth.

However, I think this is unlikely to happen, but strange things do happen.....

No offence intended, but is it a little defeatist to say that?

[Kyuuketsuki]

This is true, but what about the species of plant and animal we destroy in the mean time? Have we the right to destroy other species?

The Earth will recover, new species will evolve and I don't accept any "rights" based arguments because I don't believe in rights, I believe in responsibilities.

Have you heard of the term slowball earth. Apparently, if too much ice melts too quick, it will create an ice age that will encompass the whole planet. Because the ice will reflect the suns rays, it will never thaw. Hence the term slowball earth.

Yes ...

However, I think this is unlikely to happen, but strange things do happen.....

... why?

No offence intended, but is it a little defeatist to say that?

None taken, what is and why?

BTW, it helps to put some quotes in to show who and what you're responding to

Kyu

[leo-rcc]

This is true, but what about the species of plant and animal we destroy in the mean time? Have we the right to destroy other species?

The Earth will recover, new species will evolve and I don't accept any "rights" based arguments because I don't believe in rights, I believe in responsibilities.

I was thinking along the same lines as you but couldn't quite put it to words. Thank you for that.

[Atheismo]

I watched the first part of that series last night, it was quite interesting. Even though man has fought for thousands and thousands of years to leave his mark on this world, it will only take 500-1000 to completely vanish all evidence that he was ever here. --Ah, the power of nature, constantly quelling man's quest for immortality!

I thought it was awesome, that even though humans disappeared, our language could still be heard being 'spoken' by parrots and that they would even pass it down through generations.

[Edwardo Piet]

Sounds like an interesting concept certainly.