Life after People

[lita123]

This was really good, I saw some of it the other day, I don't know if it pertains to global warming, but it certainly shows life after people whether it's nuclear or global warming, IMO. If you get a chance, watch it. JMOO



What would happen to planet earth if the human race were to suddenly disappear forever? Would ecosystems thrive? What remnants of our industrialized world would survive? What would crumble fastest? From the ruins of ancient civilizations to present day cities devastated by natural disasters, history gives us clues to these questions and many more in the visually stunning and thought-provoking new special LIFE AFTER PEOPLE, premiering Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on The History Channel®.


Abandoned skyscrapers would, after hundreds of years, become "vertical ecosystems" complete with birds, rodents and even plant life. One small animal might be responsible for bringing down the Hoover Dam hydroelectric plant. Swelled rivers, crumbling bridges and buildings, grizzly bears in California and herds of buffalo returning to the Great Western Plains: In a world without humans, these would be the visual hallmarks. Our cars would shrivel to piles of dust, our house pets would be overtaken by flourishing wildlife and most of the records of our human storybooks, photos, recordswould fade quickly, leaving little evidence that we ever existed.


Using feature film quality visual effects and top experts in the fields of engineering, botany, ecology, biology, geology, climatology and archeology, Life After People provides an amazing visual journey through the ultimately hypothetical.

The 1986 nuclear power plant accident at Chernobyl and its aftermath provides a riveting and emotional case study of what can happen after humans have moved on. Life After People goes to remote islands off the coast of Maine to search for traces of abandoned towns, beneath the streets of New York to see how subway tunnels may become watery canals, to the Montana wilderness to divine the destiny of the bears and wolves.

Humans won't be around forever, and now we can see in detail, for the very first time, the world that will be left behind in Life After People.


http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_Generic&content_type_id=57578&display_order=2&mini_id=57517

[DDawg]

Sounds fascinating. I taped it and look forward to watching it.

[lita123]

Sounds fascinating. I taped it and look forward to watching it.


It is, the graphics are amazing. It's almost scary to think that this is way earth will look like many many years from now, as if we were never even here.

JMOO

[awakening2lite]

Thanks for posting this lita!

I missed it! :71541:

Thanks for the link, too. It's on again 8:00p est tonight!!!!

[Noahs ARK]

I watched it!! Excellent show. :howdy:

[lita123]

Thanks for posting this lita!

I missed it! :71541:

Thanks for the link, too. It's on again 8:00p est tonight!!!!


:howdy:

Wasn't it good? It was kind of scary to know that when we're all gone, that hundreds or even thousands of years from now, that Mt. Rushmore will still be standing?

Wow.

JMOO

[lita123]

I watched it!! Excellent show. :howdy:


I agree Noah!

:howdy:

[awakening2lite]

:howdy:

Wasn't it good? It was kind of scary to know that when we're all gone, that hundreds or even thousands of years from now, that Mt. Rushmore will still be standing?

Wow.

JMOO

Yes, it was terrific.

The introduction to the show was scary to me. Maybe I heard it wrong but I thought the narrator said something to the effect that this will happen, that we will one day be no more. Do you recall that? Gave me chills and reminded me of the damages we do everyday to our environment.

I hope the show serves to be a heads up to many others, even though it seemed to focus only on the possibility of nuclear activity bringing us to extinction, there are many possible paths to the same place.

[lita123]

Yes, it was terrific.

The introduction to the show was scary to me. Maybe I heard it wrong but I thought the narrator said something to the effect that this will happen, that we will one day be no more. Do you recall that? Gave me chills and reminded me of the damages we do everyday to our environment.

I hope the show serves to be a heads up to many others, even though it seemed to focus only on the possibility of nuclear activity bringing us to extinction, there are many possible paths to the same place.


I believe that is what he said Awake.

Looking at Times Square, fast forward 1,000 years or so, the picture in front of you is now a stream or brooke surrounded by grass, plants, trees.

The dogs interbreeding with coyotes and how their instincts in life changed, as if they're just from the wild.

Amazing.

JMOO

[awakening2lite]

I believe that is what he said Awake.

Looking at Times Square, fast forward 1,000 years or so, the picture in front of you is now a stream or brooke surrounded by grass, plants, trees.

The dogs interbreeding with coyotes and how their instincts in life changed, as if they're just from the wild.

Amazing.

JMOO

One example they used was the city of Chernobyl. It was good to see that nature was moving in and recycling that place. It did surprise me that they would include it, but then it served to emphasis their point regarding nuclear destruction and how eventually the earth will recover.

It was 2 hours but it could easily have been much longer. I wonder if there will be a sequel in the making?

[lita123]

One example they used was the city of Chernobyl. It was good to see that nature was moving in and recycling that place. It did surprise me that they would include it, but then it served to emphasis their point regarding nuclear destruction and how eventually the earth will recover.

It was 2 hours but it could easily have been much longer. I wonder if there will be a sequel in the making?


Good question, I'm going to keep a lookout for it every now and then. I'm sure they will; it's such a good documentary they can only make it better.

:happy0207:

[DDawg]

I watched part of it over the weekend. Good program, but I was left wondering just what kind of an event could wipe out the entire human population in an instant, leaving no dead human bodies lying around, and yet not do any harm to any other lifeforms. Certainly, if we wipe ourselves out through global warming or a nuclear holocaust (two of the more likely scenarios), many other species would also suffer major die-offs as a result. So, for me, it's kind of hard to imagine a scenario that would lead to the result depicted in the program.

[awakening2lite]

I watched part of it over the weekend. Good program, but I was left wondering just what kind of an event could wipe out the entire human population in an instant, leaving no dead human bodies lying around, and yet not do any harm to any other lifeforms. Certainly, if we wipe ourselves out through global warming or a nuclear holocaust (two of the more likely scenarios), many other species would also suffer major die-offs as a result. So, for me, it's kind of hard to imagine a scenario that would lead to the result depicted in the program.


DDawg, I think they did say (with one line) that there would have been decaying bodies everywhere, but did not demonstrate it.

They talked about the effects of nuclear disaster when they visited Chernobyl. But, you're right, it wasn't ever explained exactly what happened. I think they were leaving that to our imagination and playing on the fact that we never know what the future holds. When I watched the show I thought maybe bio-warfare or plague could have lead to the human race being destroyed, leaving the animals alive.

[DDawg]

I think the program erroneously suggests, without ever saying so, that most animals and plants could easily survive a disaster that would wipe out all human beings in an instant. That seems extremely improbable to me. Bio-warfare would most likely kill more than just humans, and either bio-warfare or plague wouldn't kill everyone off in a single instant, as portrayed in the show.

[awakening2lite]

I think the program erroneously suggests, without ever saying so, that most animals and plants could easily survive a disaster that would wipe out all human beings in an instant. That seems extremely improbable to me. Bio-warfare would most likely kill more than just humans, and either bio-warfare or plague wouldn't kill everyone off in a single instant, as portrayed in the show.


True, good point, DDwag. But, it was sci-fi, what can ya say?

There were a couple of other points that seemed unreasonable or improbable to me. One of them being, how the heck do house cats in a high rise, who are trapped on a floor because they can't open the door to the stair well or operate the elevator, not only survive, but flourish? I don't see that happening.
And, what the heck were all those pigeons eating? LOL

All and all it was thought provoking.