Life Without People

Life Without People aired Sunday night on the History Channel and I must say it was definitely intriguing. What would happen to the earth if suddenly there were no people. How fast would it revert back to nature and I must say it was surprisingly fast.

I loved seering the cities that exist today that were suddenly abandoned due to nuclear blasts. People left hurriedly and never came back. A playground where no children would ever play was shown, the grand opening was to have been 4 days after the blast-- that is of course if the blast had never happened. Stuck in a time warp. Fascinating! I love time warps.
Temples abandoned by tribes long ago were overtaken by vines and trees all growing over the temples and obscuring them. A stadium in Texas abandoned, the field where football had been played had reverted back to a forest. The grandstand where people had watched falling down and in disrepair.

The show went in progression first in 1 year and then 5 year increments--or something like that--showing what cities would look like if suddenly there were no people to maintain the city. Things we take for granted such as paint on bridges. Without daily, weekly or yearly maintenance the Golden Gate bridge for example would rust and eventually fall apart.
Windows in office buildings--without a careful eye for maintenance--would eventually fall out of their casings and offices would become open to the elements. Pigeons would roost on computers and use papers that were so important and confidential at one time to some one as mere fodder for nesting.

In this age of Blackberry's, IPOD's and razor thin computers none of that means anything if we don't appreciate what we have. How quickly if nature held humans in captivity like a monster, would we see our world as we know it today return to what it once was. Very quickly indeed.

Try and catch this as I'm sure it will be played and played again. It's well worth the watch.