The Earth Without People Chapter Summary

Alan Weisman, an award-winning journalist, teaches an international journalism course at the University of Arizona and is a senior radio producer for Homelands Productions. Formerly, Weisman worked as a contributing editor for Los Angeles Times Magazine. He maintains an established background with pieces appearing in The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, The Atlantic Monthly, and Discover. His paper “Earth Without People” written for Discover magazine inspired the book “The World Without Us.” The essay was selected for Best American Science Writing in 2006. Weisman has worked in more than 50 countries, and on all seven continents, to research for his six books. In this book, the author writes about the everlasting impacts of humanity and

The advances negatively impacted the natural ecosystem in a few ways. Forests are depleting drastically, plastics have reached an all-time high, and our nature is forced to evolve to survive. For years forests have been cut down and ultimately replaced by cities and villages. Two great examples Weisman provides to support this is the Bialowieza Puszcza and the forest of Old England. The detail that he shared with the readers about the forests helps them imagine what it used to be. He mentions in the text that Puszcza, the only primeval forest left, was down to two-fifths of what it used to be but since then it has begun to grow back since people are moving away from the nearby cities. The Old England forest is another example Weisman gave for what humans have done to the ecosystem. Before the settlers arrived, squirrels could travel by treetop from Cape Cod to Mississippi and not set foot on the ground. After the humans arrived, they burned the underbrush and tree to make trapping and hunting easier. Another example that supports Weisman’s conversation about the forests is in the Central Valley in California. The Riparian forest Tulare Lake and other landscapes in the Valley have diminished as the population grew (class lecture, Richaud, 2018). If the population growth is to continue as expected, the Central Valley will lose the good soil that is necessary for

Could the influence of civilization be reversed and changed in a positive way while we are around to fix our mistakes? This is one question I asked myself time after time while reading the book. The book enlightened me on my own behavior and I noticed I have sense than become more economically aware of my actions. Previously, I had heard about the exfoliants being tiny plastic particles, but I did not understand the full impact of plastics. I have starting using natural exfoliants and limiting my plastic waste to avoid exacerbating an already bad problem. I felt a sense of comfort, overwhelm, and guilt while learning what we have done and knowing the potential consequences. The book inspired me to change my behaviors to alleviate some of the damage. Which is what I really think was Weisman’s true intent. I do not think he wanted to erase our species, but rather show that with change, there is hope. Even if humans could not save themselves, life would continue, the fittest will survive and that surprisingly gave me comfort. Realistically, humans are not going to suddenly vanish, but the disturbing part about the book is that humanity today, is slowly destroying what makes Earth habitable for us. Weisman provides great support for his thesis and with the use of examples and expertise, he allows me and other readers to accept his ideas. Outside of Weisman’s book, there are many