I have come across several articles over the years about what would happen to planet Earth if humanity disappeared. And they all agree upon that much of our civilization would quickly be consumed by nature. Our skyscrapers, cars, streets and most of our monuments would, on an ecological scale, break down very quickly.
As it happens, there are several modern cases of human settlements that were abandoned decades ago. For example Pripyat which was abandoned after the Chernobyl disaster, the Kočevski Rog in Slovenia which was abandoned during World War 2 and never resettled afterwards, and Varosha which got caught in a no-man's land when Cyprus was partitioned in 1974, and has remained abandoned ever since. And in all cases nature works relentlessly to erase traits of human civilization.
As it also happens, the world is getting more and more urbanized. The majority of humans live in cities (and they produce 80% of the global GDP), and that number is expected to grow to 70% by 2050.
With this in mind, is it likely that further urbanization will lead to a greener planet? Almost all of humanity living in cities, and large parts of the planet peacefully abandoned, having reverted to a pre-human state?
As it happens, there are several modern cases of human settlements that were abandoned decades ago. For example Pripyat which was abandoned after the Chernobyl disaster, the Kočevski Rog in Slovenia which was abandoned during World War 2 and never resettled afterwards, and Varosha which got caught in a no-man's land when Cyprus was partitioned in 1974, and has remained abandoned ever since. And in all cases nature works relentlessly to erase traits of human civilization.
As it also happens, the world is getting more and more urbanized. The majority of humans live in cities (and they produce 80% of the global GDP), and that number is expected to grow to 70% by 2050.
With this in mind, is it likely that further urbanization will lead to a greener planet? Almost all of humanity living in cities, and large parts of the planet peacefully abandoned, having reverted to a pre-human state?
via JREF Forum http://ift.tt/PBuHLm
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