The Earth After Us: What legacy will humans leave in the rocks?

by Jan Zalasiewicz

Overview

If aliens came to Earth 100 millions years in the future, what traces would they find of long-extinct humanity's brief reign on the planet? This engaging and thought-provoking account looks at what our species will leave behind, buried deep in the rock strata, and provides us with a warning of our devastating environmental impact.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191550492
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	09/25/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

Editorial Reviews

"What fragments of our cities, dams and factories may be detectable in, say, 100 million years' time? It is a simple but intriguing thought experiment that is explored in this neat little geological entertainment."—The Observer

"It is sobering to consider what sort of legacy we're bequeathing our planet and in this regard The Earth After Us is a thoroughly inspirational book. At all levels, it provides a fantastic introduction to the world about us taken from a highly original angle."—Nature

"The central premise of The Earth After Us is in discussing what traces might remain 100 million years in the future of our species and the civilisation we have built if we were to fall extinct. In answering this question, Jan Zalasiewicz provides an engaging and broad sweep of the science of geology, different signals preserved in the rocks, and the important inferences that can be drawn from them."—The Astrobiology Society of Britain

"[A] powerful introduction to the idea of the Anthropocene." —Asian Review of World Histories

From the Publisher