What a Triumph.

"The World Without Us." (BOOK REVIEW)

"The World Without Us" is a thought experiment that asks what would happen if all of humanity died, say by virus or by nanotechnology taking over the world (the "grey goo" scenario) how long would traces of us remain? It discusses various areas of the world where we humans fail to go anymore for the most part such as the North Korea-South Korea demilitarized zone (DMZ), the DMZ in Famagusta Cyprus where nature is taking back entire resorts and highrise buildings, and to various unpopulated islands in the South Pacific where reefs almost show what the ocean was like before man.

It discusses the longevity of plastic, even the so-called biodegradable kind, which actually degrades into merely very tiny pieces of plastic that smaller creatures then swallow, and the longevity of other things like brass. Hint: If you want to make something for posterity, make it out of brass or maybe even platics. Plastic in the oceans is a particular fascination of mine. It is scary how it accumulates in the Gyres and never leaves.

Weisman makes the science in the book very approachable and has a great topic. His style is very readable, and even the dark parts of the book (it is rather depressing to think about our extinction) are offset by some pretty funny bits.

Most definitely a good read.

5 stars.

That's Barack in the white shirt.

House we stayed in.

Enjoy!

Union church Derry

No really.

Spot Pond, Stoneham, Mass

Welcom to philly.

Got Wood?

Up against the wall!

Having just spent the weekend on and off fixing wedding photos with photoshop, I am now convinced that two sets of people need to die.

The developers of Photoshop.

Plastic Surgeons.

Oh yes, The media.

Oh, after we line the Attorneys up, of course.