'World without Us' author visits NAU

The author of the hugely popular book that examines what would happen to Earth if humans suddenly vanished from the planet will be speaking at 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24, in Cline Library Assembly Hall.

Alan Weisman, an associate professor of journalism at the University of Arizona, wrote The New York Times best-selling book, The World without Us, to demonstrate how Earth would respond if humans simply went away.

"Within two days, without pumping, New York's subway would impassably flood," he says. "Within twenty years, water-soaked steel columns that support the street above the East Side's 4-5-6 trains would corrode and buckle. As Lexington Avenue caves in, it becomes a river. In the first few years with no heat, pipes burst all over town, the freeze-thaw cycle moves indoors, and things start to seriously deteriorate. Plugged sewers, deluged tunnels and streets reverting to rivers will conspire to waterlog foundations and destabilize their huge loads, toppling structures. Gradually the asphalt jungle will give way to a real one."

Weisman has appeared on The Daily Show and The Today Show and his book has been featured in publications across North America.

The talk is part of the One Community—Flagstaff and the NAU Sustainable Living Lecture Series, sponsored Northern Arizona University's Master of Liberal Studies Program.

For information on Weisman and his book, visit www.worldwithoutus.com. Read an online interview in Scientific American.