Life After People

[D0m1n1c Burford]

Did anyone else see this?  Really interesting documentary that showed the effects on our planet if the human species went extinct.  It showed how our man made structures such as buildings, bridges, roads etc would all eventually collapse.  Eventually, there would be no trace that our species had ever existed.  It also showed which species of animals would survive in our wake. 

[Jaded]

The great pyramid of Cheops would last the longest, apparently!

[Dave]

Eventually, there would be no trace that our species had ever existed. 

Hmm. Not sure about that. At the very least there would be a nice thin layer of irradiated material that would keep the cockroach scientists guessing...

[Deano]

It was pretty interesting viewing - it's just a shame it was CGI'd to death.  And I found the VO downright irritating.

But there were loads of points of interest - who'd have thought the Hoover Dam would last so long?  And I've never considered how ephemeral our culture is compared to, say, stone tablets.

[harrumph]

...Eventually, there would be no trace that our species had ever existed...

You might find this book interesting. The billions of tons of plastic created in the last fifty years will be around for a very long time, because bacteria have not evolved the ability to break down the petrochemical polymers of which it is comprised 

[andygates]

Mines.  Mines would really confuse the cockroach geologists.

It's only the absence of mine-sign that proves that dinosaurs didn't have a technological culture...

[D0m1n1c Burford]

...Eventually, there would be no trace that our species had ever existed...

You might find this book interesting. The billions of tons of plastic created in the last fifty years will be around for a very long time, because bacteria have not evolved the ability to break down the petrochemical polymers of which it is comprised 

That looks like  great read!

[Dave]

Mines.  Mines would really confuse the cockroach geologists.

It's only the absence of mine-sign that proves that dinosaurs didn't have a technological culture...

One dinosaur scientist to another, as the radioactive ash rains down, "I told you there was a fundamental design flaw with those iridium-fuelled reactors"

[Mr Larrington]

The great pyramid of Cheops would last the longest, apparently!

Longer than the Toyota HiLux pickup?

(Boggles)

[nuttycyclist]

I didn't see it, but wandering the Cornish coves this weekend and looking at the many layers of history in the cliffs did get me thinking along the lines of which layer would be all that was left of us, at some point in the future.

[Really Ancien]

Will the whole surface of the Earth  be recycled in subduction zones? Is the surface of the Moon stable? What processes are acting on that stuff left over from the Apollo missions?

Damon.

[Dave]

Will the whole surface of the Earth  be recycled in subduction zones? Is the surface of the Moon stable? What processes are acting on that stuff left over from the Apollo missions?

Damon.

In theory, but as there are sedimentary rocks over 3 billion years old, it'll take quite a while before subduction erases us from the geological record. Hmm. Some of the sedimentary rock being laid down today probably won't get subducted before the Sun goes kablooey (technical term), so geological evidence of us could be around for a loooooooooong time.

No subduction on the moon, so you're really only left with meteor strikes/visitin scrap metal merchants/expoding nuclear waste dumps.

[Jaded]

What processes are acting on that stuff left over from the Apollo missions?

Sunlight and meteorites, mainly.

[border-rider]

I found it a bit irritating, but also very interesting.

What irritated:

Much was made of the fate of poor old Fido, trapped in the house, but no mention of farm animals.  Cows would explode and everything else die - except sheep I guess.  But maybe that would have lead to hard questions about farming practices...

It was very US-centric, despite a few bits about the London Underground & the Thames Barrier.  No mention of the gas supply network under our streets which might hasten the destruction of cities a bit, I felt

I was unconvinced that the generators in the Hoover dam would  supply power for years; they might keep spinning, but I bet the grid wouldn't take it and the station itself would disconnect

I don't think that the dose rates near Chernobyl were high enough to kill all plant life .  Mammals, OK, in the hot spots.

They kept saying that after 5 years the roads would have become greened right over (with nice graphics) but the city of Pripyat seemed still to be mostly there after 20 years.

</pedant>

What was good was the way that the planet got on with it after we'd gone and, frankly, seemed like a much nicer place with a much brighter future.  Food for thought.

[Si]

What was good was the way that the planet got on with it after we'd gone and, frankly, seemed like a much nicer place with a much brighter future.

You have just qualified as either a Dr Who or a James Bond baddie.

[steveB]

You might find this book interesting.

I'm actually reading the book at the moment, only read a couple of chapters though - it puts me to sleep quicker than a bottle of Shiraz 

[Frenchie]

I found it a bit irritating, but also very interesting.
[...]
What was good was the way that the planet got on with it after we'd gone and, frankly, seemed like a much nicer place with a much brighter future.  Food for thought.

Yes, it was a bit mixed.

[border-rider]

What was good was the way that the planet got on with it after we'd gone and, frankly, seemed like a much nicer place with a much brighter future.

You have just qualified as either a Dr Who or a James Bond baddie.

 

You know, I had that same thought when i was watching it.  I realised that I might be routing for the baddie in the next Hollywood blockbuster

[rogerzilla]

Presumably the trees would take over Britain (exwept high moorland) within 10 years.  Things like ash are rather good at seeding themselves.

[border-rider]

I dunno

The field behind our house has been left abandoned since 1985, and wasn't farmed before that.  It has some thickets of shrub here and there (mostly where hedges of adjacent houses have encroached) and a couple of big trees, but the rest is nettles and long scraggy grassy stuff which all dies down in the winter.  Maybe the rabbits and deer are sufficient to keep it clear.



Taken in early March.  It's a lot more green now

[Attitudeless Badger]

not having seen this, what circumstances pushed us over the edge to an exctinction event?

[blackpuddinonnabike]

not having seen this, what circumstances pushed us over the edge to an exctinction event?

Televisual licence I do believe. We simply vanished...

[harrumph]

...I realised that I might be routing for the baddie in the next Hollywood blockbuster

No kids? Then join me as a member of VHEMT. Although I suspect we will always be outnumbered by the slaves of instinct...

But there is a solution to that problem too: Pentti Linkola's the man  

[border-rider]

not having seen this, what circumstances pushed us over the edge to an exctinction event?

Televisual licence I do believe.

Oh come on !

It's less than £150 a year.

[harrumph]

Televisual licence I do believe. We simply vanished...

Hmmmm. I don't have a television licence. I wonder if that makes me invisible to the powers that be?


<edit> Arse! Second, as usual...