The World Without Us

If extraterrestrial beings were to visit Earth a million years after the sudden extinction of humans, what evidence might they find of our existence, according to Weisman? Why might he use aliens as a way of thinking about humans’ place in Earth’s history?

In Chapter 9, Weisman writes that “plastic embodies our collective guilt over trashing the environment” (120). What does he mean?

Does The World Without Us paint Humans as Innately Destructive? Why or why not?

Weisman proposes that the “intelligent solution” to our self-endangering environmental abuse would be to “henceforth limit every human female on Earth capable of bearing children to one” (272). Does the rest of the book support the conclusion that population growth is to blame for environmental destruction?

In Chapter 12, Weisman writes: “The capacity of organisms to ensconce themselves in the world’s most inhospitable places—from lichens on Antarctic glaciers to sea worms in 176˚F sea vents—may symbolize the meaning of life itself” (172). What does he mean? Provide examples.

“If there were no people left,” Weisman writes in Chapter 6, “Africa, which has been occupied by humans longer than any other place, would paradoxically revert to the purest primeval state on Earth” (82). Why is this the case? What sets Africa apart from the other continents? How does Weisman’s portrayal of it differ from his portrayal of other regions?

One critic has compared The World Without Us to “a Hollywood-worthy, slow-motion disaster spectacular and feel-good movie rolled into one” (Schuessler, Jennifer. “Starting Over.” The New York Times, 2007). Is this an apt characterization? Why or why not? In the final analysis, is one “movie” dominant over the other? Provide examples.

What is “rewilding”? According to The World Without Us, where on Earth might rewilding be most and least likely to succeed, and why?