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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010273094 | QH542.5 Z35 2008 | Open Access Book | Gift Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
Geologist Jan Zalasiewicz takes the reader one hundred million years into the future, long after the human race became extinct, to explore what will remain of humanity's brief but dramatic sojourn on planet Earth. He tells how geologists in the far future - perhaps an alien species re-discovering Earth - might piece together the history of the planet, and slowly decipher the fact of humanity's existence, activities, and ultimate extinction from the traces we will leave impressed in the rock strata.iThe Earth After Us/i takes this novel approach to show how geologists unravel the information in the rocks. As the alien scientists start investigating the strata, what story will they tell of us? What kind of fossils will humans leave behind? What will happen to cities, cars, and plastic cups? How thick a layer will the 'human stratum' be? And will it be obvious which species dominated the planet? It reveals a story of an environmental crisis similar in scale to even earlier mass extinction events, yet puzzlingly different: a crisis where extinctions were accompanied by a bizarre global merry-go-round of organisms and by sharp perturbations of climate. The trail leads finally to the bones of the inhabitants of petrified cities that have lain deep underground for many millions of years.As thought-provoking as it is engaging, this book simultaneously explains both the geological mechanisms that shape our planet, and also offers a perspective on humanity and its actions that may prove to be more objective than any other. For our final legacy, Zalasiewicz argues, will provide the ultimate verdict on our species and on our relationship to planet Earth.
Author Notes
Jan Zalasiewicz is a Lecturer in Geology at the University of Leicester, before that working at the British Geological Survey. A field geologist, palaeontologist and stratigrapher, he teaches various aspects of geology and Earth history to undergraduate and postgraduate students, and is a researcher into fossil ecosystems and environments across over half a billion years of geological time. He has published over a hundred papers in scientific journals.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
The Earth after Us presents an interesting approach to thinking about humans' relative importance on Earth. Zalasiewicz (Univ. of Leicester, UK), a teacher, researcher, and field geologist, asks the reader to consider what a visit to the planet 100 million years from now might show in terms of human impact. When examined through the peculiar lens of a geologist, the impact is insignificant. Earth history is very long, and our time in that history is tiny. However, in others respects, human presence is markedly much larger than it should be. In our short time on Earth, our modification and destruction of other organisms and the space around us has been immense. The author presents geologic background to his study through creative essays showing how the Earth works. He uses the construct of aliens or a different evolved life form who investigate what they would find on Earth 100 million years in the future. A similar "what if" scenario that looked primarily at the human place in the biosphere was presented by A. Weisman in The World without Us (CH, Mar'08, 45-3778). Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers interested in geology. J. W. Green University of South Carolina Upstate
Table of Contents
| Prologue |
| 1 Perspective |
| 2 100 Million Years AD |
| 3 The Strata Machine |
| 4 Tectonic Escalator |
| 5 High Water, Low Water |
| 6 Dynasties |
| 7 Echoes |
| 8 Traces |
| 9 Body of Evidence |
| 10 Meeting the People |
