Alan Weisman's theory of the city without us is interesting. He stated that after only 36 hours without constant maintenance a subway system would fill with water. Eventually concrete would crack and rivers would form through the streets. As humans our everyday tasks keep nature from taking over our homes and cities. We do these things without even realizing. For instance if mildew grows in our bathtubs we have various sprays and chemicals to remove it. Without us here these molds would continue to grow. Alan Weisman states that nature would break down our skyscrapers and bridges within a few centuries. If we seized to exist, modern day Manhattan would eventually resemble the island as it was when Hudson saw it in the 1600’s. Personally I hope this is the case. If Human’s weren’t here I would hate for our cities to take up space that could benefit other organisms. However, he also stated that organisms that have adapted to our way of life, such as rats, would starve without our garbage as a source of food. This goes to show that humans do have an effect on the world surrounding us. Some species would fail without our existence. However, a great number of species would thrive. Many of us go about our day without realizing how our actions affect the world around us. Without us the world would not end….
Coming soon to a computer near you: the effect of human activity on the CO2 levels (and my opinion of course) STAY TUNED…especially if your name is Manders because I’m sure you’ll have some type of rebuttal
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6 comments:
I understand where Alan is coming from and I can see how you agree with it, but its just a theory of his. He can't tell the future and how things will react once were gone. If we didnt use our cars, phones, water, lights ect for a day and a half is it possible that everything will be growing to the way it was before. Would the subway system actually flood. I think that its logical but I have to disagree with what you believe in, how could thoes changes be so drastic in such a short time period?... a thought to ponder my friend
I see that Nina is a skeptic. Good, you are right to challenge everything. But the time frame that Weismann refers to when he mentions a return to the forests is over centuries. Take a look at Mount St. Helens. 30 years since it blew and it is nowhere near what it once was, but give it time. And as for the subways in New York City, he is dead on. The City DOT has massive generators to power pumps in case the grid goes. Most of the subway and access (power, gas, water) tunnels are well under the water table. With no power whatsoever, N-Y-C will become N-Y-Sea in no time--days actually. (There was a great special on the Discovery Channel - Modern Marvels, which shows how fragile the infrastructure actually is.)
I agree with Wiesman and Katy's opinion in that the world will grow back to it's origional form, or at least close to it. Everyday we are resisting the growth of plants and weeds and that in a shorter, maybe not 36 hours that the earth would start to over grow and return to origional form. without all of the daily pollution from cars, planes and everything else the earth would start to re grow and flourish. This would benefit the atmosphere and many species seeing that with human existance many of them are dieing out.
I agree that human do adversely affect the way in which many species thrive, but have you ever thought about what we provide to other organisms that actually helps them. What would happen to them?
I agree with Alan Weisman. I remember seeing the TV special about the world without us and seeing how much humans impact the world. Without us here, I can see the world revering back to itself. I also like how you included how we affect the world by using the rat examples but I have to agree more organisms would thrive more so then die without having us being around. Without us being here, we would no longer be polluting the air, killing animals, and using chemical. Little do we know, the small things we do everyday can cause a lot of damage. We are slowly diminishing the world's natural resources. It is sad to know that we are slowly killing earth, the place we call home.
I agree with manderz in saying that although certain species would thrive more without us, have you ever thought about the ones that need us for their survival? I think that there is really no way to argue one side against the other because there are so many pros and cons of each. They are two different extremes, the world with people living in it and the world without people. I also think that it is hard to make assumptions as to what the world would be "without us" because nobody really knows.
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