Radiation and some chemicals would be the only vestige of human civilisation 200,000 years hence if Man suddenly vanished. The ending of light pollution would be an early effect, according to The Times (citing New Scientist). Plants would take over major cities in 50 years; by 50,000 years there would be few ruins to tell our tale.
3 responses to 200k years to eliminate Man's footprint
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Interesting article. It's good to know that in the time it's taken modern man to screw the planet up, it can recover to the paradise it once was.
True Ken; Homo sapiens have managed to ruin the planet in just 150,000 years of existance, yet the dinosaurs lived in harmony with it for 165,000,000 years. What a staggeringly destructive species we are.
Indeed. And what if we manage to escape Planet Earth? We've already started polluting space (how much junk is orbiting above us right now?) and dumping stuff on the Moon, Venus, Mars, Titan...