An intriguing or perhaps frightening idea ever thought of? What would the world be like if men were wiped off from the face of this earth? The most powerful creatures that had dominated the world for centuries have been ironically destroyed the place they had lived in. Global warming as consequences of irresponsibility of mankind’s activities that devastated the environment becomes a real threat in the world today and the future. We read almost every day in the newspapers and TV, natural disasters of landslides, flood, drought, heat wave, and hurricanes among others that were predicted as result of global warming. This nature anomaly caused by the massive changes of climate due to environmental destruction. The massive deforestation and the gigantic industrial activities that produce green house gasses (GHGs) combined with the ignorance of most men towards the problem lead to worsening deterioration of this world. Alan Weismann, an award-winning journalist whose reports have appeared in Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Discover, and on NPR, among others recently wrote a book The World Without Us as reflection of his deepening concern of the dying universe and the ignorance of men. It is said that the book is the expansion of his article Earth Without People in Discover Magazine in 2005. It is a must have book that everyone should read as environmental problems are every one concern that would determine human’s existence.
Earth Without People can be easily browsed in http://discovermagazine.com/2005/feb/earth-without-people/. It is a fascinating article to read especially the imaginary world without men in which extinct animals and plants grew freely in the wild. The trace of human beings disappeared and replaced by the mushrooming of rare flora and fauna. Yet, this imaginary idea is strongly supported by some facts resulting from discussion and interviews with scientists and experts from various fields. So it is not just a mere imaginary statement without proof and fact. Excerpt from the World Without Us revealed the fact of the emergence of plants and animal in the deserted Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plan. No human dared to set foot on the contaminated area ever since the nuclear reactor explosion in 1986. Amazingly, without the interference of human, wild plants and animals emerged in the abandoned area. That’s what makes this book listed into Best American Science Writing. It is a daring experimental thought that arouses our awareness on the seriousness of the environmental problems. Would the disappearance of human from the face of the world be the best remedy for this dying planet? Does the existence of human only bring destruction to this planet? The answer lies in human race itself. Do we have courage and determination to change this world into a better place to live by doing our best to save this planet even if it was only considered small? Or we could just sit down and watch this planet crumble into pieces.
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