Something interesting, but a little morbid, for an October Monday.
From The London Times Online:
Click on the cool graphic to see the full timeline of eradication!If Man were to vanish from the face of the Earth today, his footprint on the planet would linger for the mere blink of an eye in geological terms.
Within hours, nature would begin to eradicate its impact. In 50,000 years all that would remain would be archaeological traces. Only radioactive materials and a few man-made chemical contaminants would last longer — an invisible legacy.
Man’s environmental footprint would, according to a report in New Scientist, begin to deteriorate almost immediately, with light pollution the first to go as power stations ceased to provide energy.
Glass and steel tower blocks that create city skylines would mostly fall down within 200 years. Brick, stone and concrete structures would last longer. With exceptions — the pyramids are already 3,000 years old — by the next millennium there would be little more left than ruins.
2 comments:
Nice to know if we all vanished tomorrow that the radioactive material we leave behind doesn't seem to be a big deal to the New Scientist folks. Geez, if it's so unimportant that it won't leave a last impression for very long, why all the fuss about how to properly dispose of it? Think of all the money the government could save. And won't all those people in Nevada look silly for worrying about the environmental impact of the Yucca mountaint project. Sheesh! :)
I think they should put all the nuclear waste material on the moon. That worked out well in Space: 1999. ;)
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