Life After People

[Michael Garrity]

Greetings all:

What is your opinion of this series? It does seem rather intriguing. The writers did leave some details out, however. No mention is made of how fast humans disappeared, but in the segment where the aftermath of Las Vegas was shown, an iced drink (probably whiskey) was shown sitting on a blackjack table. This implies the disappearance of people was instantaneous.
Other missing details:

One minute after people: All vehicles in motion on the streets, roads and highways of the world have crashed. Those cars whose engines aren't too badly damaged (as well as the engines of those vehicles that are parked or not moving), see the engines continue to run until the fuel is exhausted

1-14 hours after people: Aircraft in flight crash after their fuel runs out; these range from traffic helicopters to long-range passenger & military aircraft.

7-30 days after people: Ocean-going vessels (both civilian and military) crash or run aground.

Input?

Mike Garrity

[tim31]

The helicopter one is bullshit; a whirly with no-one at the stick would have spun into the ground much earlier than even an hour.

If this topic interests you, I recommend getting John Birmingham's novel Without Warning, which has the added factor of on CONUS being mysteriously depopulated by a standing energy wave. This happens in 2003 one week before Iraq kicked off, and the way the rest of the world reacts is a 550 page novel.

PROTIP: this probably would have been better posted in Off Topic.

[avatarxprime]

Greetings all:

What is your opinion of this series? It does seem rather intriguing. The writers did leave some details out, however. No mention is made of how fast humans disappeared, but in the segment where the aftermath of Las Vegas was shown, an iced drink (probably whiskey) was shown sitting on a blackjack table. This implies the disappearance of people was instantaneous.

Provided it's based on the special that came before, then people all just up and disappeared in an instant. No reason is given other than that is the premise for the show.

[SAMAS]

That's because the whole point is about what comes afterwards. They even say it in the intro.

Although I do enjoy watching cities get overgrown, and the inevitable skyscraper collapse that usually comes around 200 years.

I was surprised at how long they figured the Taj Mahal would last.

[RedImperator]

That's because the whole point is about what comes afterwards. They even say it in the intro.

Although I do enjoy watching cities get overgrown, and the inevitable skyscraper collapse that usually comes around 200 years.

I was surprised at how long they figured the Taj Mahal would last.

Well-built, undisturbed stone structures on solid foundations will stick around for a long time. It's not like stone corrodes.

[Mobiboros]

PROTIP: this probably would have been better posted in Off Topic.

Why? This seems pretty much exactly on target as speculative fiction based on scientific premises. It's projecting known phenomenon into the future with the macguffin of humans aren't there to halt the phenomenon.

OT:
It's a decent show. I don't go out of my way to catch it but if it's on I'll leave it on. The timescales they use are largely arbitrary though, or they make up some pretense to get things moving. It's always "These support beams are made of steel. And IF water somehow manages to get in through cracks that formed in the roof in just the right places to let water get at the steel beams, then they'll rust and collapse!". Which is true, but then they tack on some amount of years that's just based on an aesthetically pleasing sounding number.

[Surlethe]

Speculation as to where this thread ultimately belongs is pointless; let the staff deal with it.

[Broomstick]

I think this is "hard" science fiction in the best sense - speculation based on facts. How and why people disappeared is the only wild aspect here, and the mechanism, as pointed out, isn't really important to the concept, which is what happens when people are no longer around.

I agree, though - a helicopter without a pilot will crash in minutes, at most. But one or two inaccuracies won't doom such a show, and it can provoke further comment and thought which can be a good thing.

[hongi]

I enjoy these sorts of shows, but I have something odd to confess. Extinction of humanity? Eh, it's done and there's nothing to be done about it. Destruction of monuments? Whatever. But I can't bear the thought of millions of pets starving to death in their homes with no way out. My cat.

[SAMAS]

Better install a pet door, then.

[FSTargetDrone]

I enjoy these sorts of shows, but I have something odd to confess. Extinction of humanity? Eh, it's done and there's nothing to be done about it. Destruction of monuments? Whatever. But I can't bear the thought of millions of pets starving to death in their homes with no way out. My cat.

Well, as has been described already, it's not really about people beyond what happens to the constructions of the world when people are suddenly absent. It's a simple as, "what becomes of this highrise or that subway tunnel when humans vanish." The show doesn't care why people have disappeared, just that they have disappeared.

The issue of suddenly-abandoned pets was dealt with in one episode and also in the spacial last year. Dogs that are bred for their appearance (for example, those that have short muzzles) will have a more difficult time surviving on their own, etc. Pets trapped in houses will of course die unless they can escape. They even did a bit about the dogs belonging to the Queen of England and how long they could survive inside Buckingham palace (or some other large estate, whatever) when left alone.

[tim31]

People disappearing everywhere, instantly, means whole cities burning to the ground because someone had an iron pressed to a shirt when the event happened. The shirt caught fire, then the room, then the house, then the house next door...

[Icehawk]

Have any of these shows mentioned how long nuclear power stations would continue to function properly for if left unattended by anyone? Would their be serious danger of any meltdowns or Chernobyl type incidents occuring within the following days or weeks? Or would most of them just go into some sort of emergency automated shutdowns after a certain number of issues start showing up on the computer systems?

[Alyeska]

Have any of these shows mentioned how long nuclear power stations would continue to function properly for if left unattended by anyone? Would their be serious danger of any meltdowns or Chernobyl type incidents occuring within the following days or weeks? Or would most of them just go into some sort of emergency automated shutdowns after a certain number of issues start showing up on the computer systems?

After Three Mile and Chernobyl, most have been designed or redesigned specifically to prevent such occurrences. They would shut themselves down fairly quickly. I believe on an order of just 72 hours. The longest lasting power sources would be the Dam's. Natural source of energy. Their survival would depend on how the concrete structure survives the weather without human interference and how well the spill ways work. Some dam's will clog up earlier as a result of growths on the intact.

[RedImperator]

Or would most of them just go into some sort of emergency automated shutdowns after a certain number of issues start showing up on the computer systems?

That's it. You have to try really hard to make a nuclear reactor do anything nasty; they are designed to fail in a safe manner even if several things go wrong at once.

If no one was watching over them, when things go wrong and don't get fixed, they'll just shut themselves down harmlessly.

There's still the hot spent fuel in the cooling ponds. I've also read, though not confirmed, that at least some reactors still need cooling water even when they're shut down, due to the radioactive decay of the fuel.

Anyway, even if the nuke plants sit and do nothing, there's going to be a real problem with fires at chemical plants and oil refineries. Downwind from them will be toxic enough you won't have to worry about radiation.

[Commander 598]

Have any of these shows mentioned how long nuclear power stations would continue to function properly for if left unattended by anyone? Would their be serious danger of any meltdowns or Chernobyl type incidents occuring within the following days or weeks? Or would most of them just go into some sort of emergency automated shutdowns after a certain number of issues start showing up on the computer systems?

I believe the single special had them exploding violently and irradiating everything for hundreds of miles.

[avatarxprime]

People disappearing everywhere, instantly, means whole cities burning to the ground because someone had an iron pressed to a shirt when the event happened. The shirt caught fire, then the room, then the house, then the house next door...

I think the special might have had a throw away line about those kinds of accidents, but so far they haven't done anything like that.

[starslayer]

All power plants will automatically shut down as soon as the first couple of coal plants run out of coal and the fires stop. Once the grid starts to shut down, it all goes down to prevent damage to it and to the power plants themselves. IOW, in just a few hours. Once the reactors shut themselves off, then the diesel backup generators in the waste cooling ponds power on to keep cold water running over the waste to prevent it from melting. These generators generally have enough fuel for a week to ten days. Once the fuel runs out, the water in the ponds will boil, and eventually build up enough pressure to destroy the structure in a steam explosion, resulting in radioactive plumes everywhere downwind of a plant.

Hydroelectric dams may last for several thousand years (they're mostly bulk concrete and landfill), mostly depending on when and how the spillways clog, and when those five hundred and one thousand year rain and flooding events occur. Once one dam on a river goes, all the ones below it will go too in a cascade to the sea. On the Colorado, for example, Glen Canyon will almost certainly be the first one to fail; this will cause Hoover to fail as well, as once any amount of water is flowing over the top, it's all over.

[SAMAS]

IIRC, the special had Hoover going first, mostly because of some mistakenly-imported mollusk clogging up the spillways.

[RedImperator]

IIRC, the special had Hoover going first, mostly because of some mistakenly-imported mollusk clogging up the spillways.

Hoover's generators shut down because of clogged intakes, but the dam itself stood for thousands of years in the special.

[Oskuro]

Here's the Timeline, from the Wikipedia Article on the special. Spoiler

• 1 day: Fossil fuel fired power plants, which are largely automated, would remain running for a few hours until their fuel supplies are depleted. Within hours, lights begin going out all over the world as electrical systems start failing. Within a couple of days, almost all fossil fuel plants would shut down.
• 2 days: After 48 hours, nuclear power plants will automatically enter safe mode due to reduced power consumption, thereby averting meltdowns. Wind turbines will continue to operate but eventually cease to operate when their lubrication fails. Eventually, only areas powered by hydroelectric dams and solar panels will have electricity.
• 3 days: Subway systems like the New York City Subway require pumps to keep out the groundwater. Without humans to maintain the system, many parts of the subway will be flooded within 36 hours.
• 10 days: Food would begin to rot in grocery stores and in refrigerators. While melted water from freezers or food on countertops could provide temporary sustenance, pets would soon need to leave their owners' houses to avoid death from starvation. Those which managed to leave homes would have to compete for food. Dogs and cats that were bred by humans for appearance would have no niche in this new competitive environment and will be among the first to die. For example, the short legs and small mouths of bulldogs or terriers will be handicaps for them. Zoo animals who haven't gotten out of the pens that held them would die of thirst and hunger. Large animals like elephants and lions would get out of their pens.
• 6 months: Smaller forms of wildlife not normally seen in civilization, like coyotes and bobcats, would begin to inhabit suburban areas. Deer would also begin grazing in neighborhoods as well. Rats and mice will have by now consumed our edible supplies and are leaving urban areas to return into the wild.
• 1 year: Plants would begin to sprout within the cracks in streets, highways, sidewalks, and buildings. The Hoover Dam would stop generating power as mussels clog coolant pipes. Therefore, one of the last areas with some artificial illumination, in Las Vegas, Nevada, would finally plunge into darkness.
  
  As flow of water through the dam stops, the Colorado River downstream from the dam would temporarily dry up until the level of Lake Mead reaches the spillways around the dam. Wildfires caused by lightning would rage uncontrolled in cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and Rome. Animals would start to notice human absence and they would start to flourish in cities.
  
  The final radio and television signals of Humanity, which have been traveling through outer space have now deteriorated into undetectable background radiation, according to scientists of the SETI project.
• 5 years: Plant life will have covered many surfaces in urban areas with vines, grasses, and tree saplings growing there. Roads will become overgrown with plant life, suffer from lack of maintenance, and disappear.
• 20 years: The ruins of Prypiat, Ukraine, which were abandoned in 1986 due to the Chernobyl disaster, are used as an example for the level of decay which could happen after 20 years of humanity's disappearance. Despite high radiation levels, many animal populations have flourished significantly in areas where humans had left. Plants have grown in many structures that were once used by humans.
• 25 years: Sea water floods into cities such as London and Amsterdam which are currently kept dry by human-engineered projects. Windows in high rise buildings begin to crack and shatter due to the cycle of freezing and thawing and the decay of window sealants. satellites, due to lack of recalibrations (or adjustments) would have fallen back to Earth.
• 40 years: By this time, many wooden frame houses would have burnt down, rotted, or have been largely consumed by termites. Trees and vines grow into remaining brick and masonry elements, which would by now be weakened by salts. Compacted earth dams may begin to fail due to widening leaks.
• 50 years: Steel structures, such as the Brooklyn Bridge, would start to show signs of strain from neglect. Paint that would normally protect these structures would peel off, exposing the steel to the elements and allowing corrosion to gradually weaken them.
• 75 years: Many of the roughly 600 million automobiles on earth would be reduced to barely recognizable metal. Some automobiles in arid climates would not have suffered the effects of corrosion as severely and would still be recognizable. While the rubber tires of cars would have deflated years ago, they would not decompose for centuries.
• 100 years: Large bridges such as the Golden Gate Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge would collapse due to corrosion of support cables. Many human-built structures would fail during the 100- to 300-year period.
• 150 years: Many streets with subways would start to collapse into flooded tunnels below. Many large buildings are completely colonized by plants and animals and resemble a wild landscape, creating somewhat of a "vertical ecosystem". Descendants of Domestic dogs that went wild had bred with wolves.
• 200 years: Large structures such as the Empire State Building, Sears Tower, Space Needle, and Eiffel Tower would collapse due to corrosion, invasive plant life, and ground water destabilizing their foundations.
• 500 years: Items made with modern concrete would give way as the steel rebar reinforcing them rusts and expands to three times its normal size.
• 1000 years: Most modern cities would be destroyed and/or covered in flora, with collapsed and fallen skyscrapers becoming new mounds and hills. Manhattan would appear much as it did before human settlement with old streams and bodies of waters returning. There would be little evidence that a human civilization existed on earth. Certain structures made out of thick rock or concrete, like the Egyptian Pyramids or the Hoover Dam, might survive with minimal damage.
• 10,000 years: The Hoover Dam, one of the last remnants of advanced civilization, would fail due to erosion of its concrete and the cumulative effect of seismic activity.
  
  By this point, any substantial evidence of humanity's former domination over nature would be gone. Only a few things would survive, such as large stone structures. The Pyramids at Giza remain, but would be mostly buried by the Sahara Desert's sands. Portions of the Great Wall of China may also remain intact. The faces at Mount Rushmore might also survive and remain recognizable for hundreds of thousands of years. Our bones, rubber, plastic, and polystyrene (polystyrene is also called Styrofoam) might be the last remnants of humanity.

There's also a table on the predicted fate of animals, but I think this one is humongous enough.

[Coyote]

The way humanity disappears, however, does play a part in preservation. If people vanish, *poof*, in some supernatural method, then things hold true to this timeline. But if it is a gradual die-off, say, a lack of vigorous reproduction due to disease or a fertility decline from environmental effects, then the shut down will be more gradual, orderly, and less chaotic. Especially if remnant governments or other organizations maintain some control-- herding decreasing populations into smaller areas, having roving squads check buildings, shut off power and remove usable & consumable items, etc. It could take generations for civilization to retreat, giving people time to organize a plan.

The only parts of the system that will suffer the final chaos would be the enclaves where the last survivors die off. An orderly shut-down and retreat might stave off the over all decay process by another hundred or so years. If the last enclaves of people along the Colorado River consolidate into smaller and smaller communities, for example, they may have used the principle of "last one out turn off the lights, close the door... and open the spillways on the dams". Potentially, some of the dams could survive intact for thousands of years beyond projected times, and provide subjects of interest for alien archaeologists.

[Oskuro]

Wonder what would happen with military installations and weaponry caches. I guess many of those are built to withstand more punishment.

[SAMAS]

They touched on some of that in this week's episode. They showed how some of the bunkers stormed in Normandy are starting to crack and break up due to the Reinforced Concrete (non-reinforced concrete, perhaps ironically, will last much longer), and the USS Missouri breaking it's moorings and becoming an island in Pear Harbor.

They also showed an aircraft restoration field, and postulated that due to the protective coating on the fighters there, they should last long enough to eventually get buried by erosion and dust.

[Coyote]

It'd be interesting to see how missile silos, mountain bunkers like NORAD, and other hardened civil defense shelters might do.

Ironically, some of our best-preserved stuff may be the shipwrecks that went deep into the cold, low-oxygen areas. If anyone thinks to look there, that is. The only real concern they have is being buried in sediment from underwater slides or eruptions.