Alan Weisman's The World Without Us explores the question: what would happen if humanity was to disappear from the world tomorrow, all at once, suddenly, and not cataclysmically?
Although this seems like a plot device from the Left Behind series and countless post-apocalyptic science-fiction movies, that's not where Weisman's heading. His point is to show readers that without our destructive lifestyles, the world would eventually repair itself. Through interviews, research, and educated speculation, Weisman takes us on a tour of the world that extends both forwards and backwards: backwards, to delve into our history and explain the kind of damage that we've done to the world; and forwards to paint a picture of the healing power of our planet.
Ultimately, the point of the book is that we don't have to disappear in order to heal the world. We just need to eliminate our 'footprint' on the environment. Check out this book if you get a chance....and if you haven't yet checked out any of Coach Tom's links to Colin Beavan's No Impact Man blog, there's a good place to get started.
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