Book Review - The World Without Us
I hosted the latest book club and picked The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. I'd seen some reviews and it looked interesting.
The gist of it is Weisman looks at what would happen to the Earth if all humans were suddenly removed from the planet. He uses specific examples to make the abstract seem real: New York City, the oil refineries of Houston, the Chunnel, Panama Canal and two locales that really brought it home, Tucson and the Palo Verde nuclear plant here in Phoenix.
I found the book fascinating but also depressing and hopeful. Depressing in that we've really mucked up our planet. Hopeful that it may recover given enough time. Of course, that would require either the elimination of our species or some incredible efforts on our part to decrease our negative impact.
The gist of it is Weisman looks at what would happen to the Earth if all humans were suddenly removed from the planet. He uses specific examples to make the abstract seem real: New York City, the oil refineries of Houston, the Chunnel, Panama Canal and two locales that really brought it home, Tucson and the Palo Verde nuclear plant here in Phoenix.
I found the book fascinating but also depressing and hopeful. Depressing in that we've really mucked up our planet. Hopeful that it may recover given enough time. Of course, that would require either the elimination of our species or some incredible efforts on our part to decrease our negative impact.
