I'm reading a fantastic book at the moment, Alan Weisman's The World Without Us is a treatise on what would happen if we disappeared today and weren't seen back again and how nature will reclaim and recover our various marks on the world and eventually rub us out. It makes for riveting reading, so nice to see the world from such a fresh perspective! I must have some vital gene missing because I've always secretly like the idea of an emancipated world! (as long as we all disappear with a minimum of pain and distress).
Caleb and I discuss the ludicrous hypothetical question 'If a tree fell in the forest and there was no one there to hear it would it still make a sound?' and the anthropocentric weirdness that humans have put on our own importance, this wonderful book puts us firmly in our place. Though the chapter on plastics still bothers me :-(
The World without us
The site has an interesting multimedia 'quick flick' through the resulting decay of human related remains. I was amazed to learn that New York is built on rivers and without constant pumping it would soon flood. 1/2 an hour without pumps and the trains in the subway would grind to a halt.
4 comments:
Sounds like an interesting book. I'll have to keep an eye out for it at the library. Bruny Islands sounds great. We're heading down to Tassie towards the end of October - can't wait! Might have to add Bruny to the itinerary.
Yes a great book - but also a big thanks for your book which I read on holiday this summer - I gave it a plug on my blog this evening her in Gloucestershire - enjoyed lots of it - including the recipes - have changed my Chai mix to your recipe! Good luck with the latest project - look forward to reading more...
Hi from New Zealand
I'm reading your book at the moment - good read so far!
And found you have a blog. So stopping by to say hello.
Love Leanne NZ
Hello from the US. I've read your book twice now. I really enjoyed it. Slowly we make similar changes here. I consider your book to be an essential part of my homesteading-sustainable living library.
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