The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

NNephew, Logan, UTAH — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:03:52 GMT

Your interview with Mr. Weisman was excellent and thought provoking. We all should be prepared even for the smallest inconveniences in our daily lives. The very thought of us as a species being eliminated from this earth is very scary. I think Mr. Weisman's concept left out a very important factor when he was describing how little time it would take for our society's advanced engineering in construction to completely corrode and collapse. I would argue that they would go quicker because of our lack of attention in maintaining our 'aging infrastructure' across this country and around the world, especially in developing countries.

The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

pat doser — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:41:33 GMT

terrific, bout time someone stepped up and 'maybe' gets us, as a species, to 'look at tomorrow'...this is 'going to happen' why should we continue longer than the other eras that we continue to dig up!!??
where do I get a copy of the book??

The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

Juel F. Enger Las Vegas, Nv. — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 15:50:02 GMT

Simple question, we live in Las Vegas, do deserts last longer, buildings, etc. since there is so little water.

The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

Joanne Deutch,Lenox,MA — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:06:40 GMT

I found this to be an interesting segment, with of course no record to see what would survive after 20 years without man or women. I'm sure all the plastic we use would survive and definitely roaches cause nothing will ever kill them. It is interesting to think of the land as the settlers saw it for the first time, before man made such a mess.
I'll be buying this book.

The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

David Michael Garrett Fort Erie Ontario — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 20:25:50 GMT

Having only one female child really would be in the best interest of all human beings. As it makes so much sense only a few countries would ever adopt it. I suppose if a few did do it maybe it would spread to others over the years ahead.

The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

T Brown Atlanta, Ga. — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 20:55:29 GMT

Many of Alan Weisman's points seem to be evident in New Orleans. The scenes seen on TV after Katrina hit revealed that maintenance of the infrastructure in New Orleans had not been a state priority of Louisiana for years. It also revealed that most of the mothers who had not evacuated had more than one child. Parts of the city had long succumbed to nature each time there was a heavy rain pre-Katrina. Those same sections of New Orleans are going to be reclaimed by nature unless the mayor gets his act together.

The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

David Williamson, Lenexa Kansas — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 20:57:52 GMT

I look forward to reading Professor Weisman's book. I disagree with his premise just a bit however. Instead of what would happen if, what will happen when... seems more appropriate to me. Afterall entropy, happens and on the cosmic scale of things we've been around less than a blink. I think its a little arrogant to believe old Mother Earth won't outlive our species, just like she has so many others.

The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

Alexandra, Kansas City Missouri — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 21:10:52 GMT

Finally someone is proposing a population cap. Families need to seriously consider whether having more than one child is culturally responsible. If we want the best for our children we need to recognize that having a large family is a strain on our resources.

The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

Paul, Chicago IL — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:20:06 GMT

What does a professor know about the world and how it works, most professors don't even live in it. Perhaps he has never heard of the old saying that nothing lasts forever. We should have had a population cap in place and it should have started when he was born. Who cares what about what would happen. What's going to happen is going to happen. It's propoganda like this that causes the Government to spend money on meaningless crap instead of spending on good infrastructure where contractors are forced to bid low.

The World Without Us: Q and A with Alan Weisman

Steve McEwen, Bowling Green, Oh — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:30:00 GMT

In Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything" he states, as I recall, that 99+% of every living thing that EVER existed is NOW extinct. Think about that----and that's long before humans infulenced the environment. We're getting smart enough to wake up in time to save the earth before the sun quits burning and does it for us.