Aftermath: Population Zero
Encyclopedia
Aftermath: Population Zero (also titled Aftermath: The World After Humans) is a two-hour Canadian special documentary film
that premiered on Sunday, March 9, 2008 (at 8:00 PM ET/PT) on the National Geographic Channel
. The program was produced by Cream Productions
.
Similar to the History Channel's special Life After People
, Aftermath features what scientist
s and others speculate the earth
, animal life
, and plant life
might be like if humanity no longer existed
, as well as the effect that humanity's disappearance would have on the artifacts of civilization
.
Both documentaries are inspired by Alan Weisman's The World Without Us
.
A follow-up 4-part TV series was created, Aftermath
, following different scenarios and what happens.
).
, the similar special feature on the History Channel, Aftermath does not explain how humanity disappeared, but rather what would happen to the Earth after we disappeared. It also shows that humans have disappeared instantly, not a few at a time. Both series depicts the possible fates of famous pieces of infrastructure and buildings. It, too, uses CGI
dramatizations to depict the possible fate of such icons as the Statue of Liberty
and, in both programs, the Eiffel Tower
and Hoover Dam
. However, it does not emphasize this as much as Life After People does, following much more closely the effects on the natural world and its recovery after mankind departs the scene.
In addition, unlike Life After People, Aftermath depicts what would happen if various modes of transportation—such as automobiles, planes, and trains—are abandoned in mid-motion when their passengers and operators instantly disappear, not unlike the Rapture
in Christian eschatology
. Life After People does not show what would happen to these vehicles left in motion.
Also, Aftermath shows what would happen if a nuclear power plant
's spent fuel rods are left without the cooling equipment governing its condition. Life After People suggest that nuclear power plants would safely shut down with no ill effects with no mention of what would happen to spent fuel rods in storage. However, in an episode of Life After People: The Series, "Toxic Revenge", spent fuel rods are shown 10 days after people heating up and exploding the reactors containing it. Aftermath also shows that the nuclear power plants themselves would shut down without incident, but the spent fuel rod storage in separate buildings would eventually blow up and spread radiation into the air and the surrounding countryside after the backup safety devices fail, due to lack of fuel a few days after the main power plant supplying power shutdown. Life After People also does not mention the release of poisonous gas from chemical plants when their safety features fail, lacking the fuel to run them.
Life After People does however talk about the Hoover Dam still generating power after people, but neither show talks about the things powered by batteries and solar power. In the Life After People episode, "Crypt of Civilization", watches with batteries are shown to last at least a year after us. In another episode, "Waves of Devastation", one of the landmarks the episode centers around is the ferris wheel
on the Santa Monica Pier
, that features LED lights that run automatically at night, powered by solar power. In another episode, "Sin City Meltdown", Springs Preserve's visitor center in Las Vegas is powered by the sun, and so the recorded voices of man still echo, until ten years after people, where silt has accumulated on the solar panels and the last vestiges of the human voice vanish.
Aftermath does not talk about the International Space Station
while Life After People discusses the fate of the Immortality Drive
aboard the ISS. Both documentaries make reference to objects on the Moon, although Life After People does this as part of the miniseries episode "Roads to Nowhere". Unlike Life After People, Aftermath does not comment on the Voyager 2
spacecraft. Life After People episode "Sky's The Limit" mentions the Cassini–Huygens Space orbiter. However no other space probes were noted. It should however be noted that the original Life After People documentary made reference to man's radio communications in space.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that premiered on Sunday, March 9, 2008 (at 8:00 PM ET/PT) on the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
. The program was produced by Cream Productions
Cream Productions
Cream Productions is a Canadian award winning Factual Entertainment company based in Toronto, Ontario. It has produced several documentaries that include Canadian and international content...
.
Similar to the History Channel's special Life After People
Life After People
Life After People is a television documentary series where scientists and other experts speculate about what the Earth might be like if humanity no longer existed, as well as the impact humanity's disappearance might have on the environment and the artificial aspects of civilization...
, Aftermath features what scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
s and others speculate the earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, animal life
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
, and plant life
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
might be like if humanity no longer existed
Human extinction
Human extinction is the end of the human species. Various scenarios have been discussed in science, popular culture, and religion . The scope of this article is existential risks. Humans are very widespread on the Earth, and live in communities which are capable of some kind of basic survival in...
, as well as the effect that humanity's disappearance would have on the artifacts of civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
.
Both documentaries are inspired by Alan Weisman's The World Without Us
The World Without Us
The World Without Us is a non-fiction book about what would happen to the natural and built environment if humans suddenly disappeared, written by American journalist Alan Weisman and published by St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books. It is a book-length expansion of Weisman's own February 2005 Discover...
.
A follow-up 4-part TV series was created, Aftermath
Aftermath (History TV)
Aftermath is a four-part 2010 series created by History Television Canadian station. It also aired in the United States on the National Geographic Channel. It was produced by Cream Productions....
, following different scenarios and what happens.
Timeline
The story begins on Friday, June 13, in an unspecified year. The nature of the show and the appearance of certain vehicles suggest that it takes place in 2008, the year the program was first aired (and when June 13 did indeed fall on a FridayFriday the 13th
Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year...
).
Day 1 A.H. (After Humans)
The story speculates that humanity has disappeared instantly.- Empty carČarČar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
s and other vehicles swerve off the roads and crash, causing multiple accidents all across the globe. Those that don't burn out as a result continue to release exhaust into the air until their fuel supplies run out. AirplanesFixed-wing aircraftA fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
fall from the sky. Some crash just some minutes after takeoff when their crews disappear, whereas others at high altitudes, with their fuel tanks full and autopilots engaged, continue flying for hours. TrainTrainA train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s derail. (60 seconds A.H.) - Coal plants run out of coalCoalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. Many cities around the world go out. Some buildings supplied with energy by them, such as Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
casinoCasinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s, fall into darkness. (10 minutes A.H.) Others switch to generatorsElectrical generatorIn electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
which, in turn, get their energy from other sources (windmillWindmillA windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
s, damDamA dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s). The demand proves to be too much for what these plants can provide and produces mass power blackouts (55 minutes A.H.). Within just 85 minutes, only nuclear power plantNuclear power plantA nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
s continue working. - The permanent loss of power reaches the nuclear power plants, which shut off their reactors. Once that happens, it will trigger numerous catastrophic events later on in time. (96 minutes A.H.)
- ChlorineChlorineChlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
tanks, which need to remain cold, heat up until release valves are activated, sending the gas into the surrounding environment. Many animals die of suffocationSuffocationSuffocation is the process of Asphyxia.Suffocation may also refer to:* Suffocation , an American death metal band* "Suffocation", a song on Morbid Angel's debut album, Altars of Madness...
. Also, liquefied natural gasLiquefied natural gasLiquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport....
tanks begin to fail, causing many fires and explosions. (6 hours A.H.)
Day 3 to day 7 A.H.
- Needing to be rewound, Big Ben rings for the last time.
- PetPetA pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
dogDogThe domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s and catCatThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s exhaust all the food stored in their owners' homes and break out to search for more in the streets. - Water pumpWater PumpWater Pump is one of the neighbourhoods of Gulberg Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is near main Water Pump that supplies fresh water to the city of Karachi....
s fail, leaving sewage treatmentSewage treatmentSewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
plants useless and polluting rivers and lakesWater pollutionWater pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....
. - In farmFarmA farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
s and pasturePasturePasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
s all over the world, dairy cows are struggling to survive as their food and water supplies begin to end. In a cruel twist of fate, 90,000 dairy cows are saved from the slaughterhouse, but they may all die of dehydration. - ZooZooA zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
animals escape through useless electric fences and roam free. - MigrationBird migrationBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
is safer for birdBirdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s now, as electric lights do not confuse them anymore. - As days pass, dogs eat all easily-available food and begin to fight amongst each other for supremacy. The bigger dogs make packs and attack the small ones to eat them. Within a week, all toy dogToy dogToy dog traditionally refers to a very small dog or a grouping of small and very small breeds of dog. A toy dog may be of any of various dog types. Types of dogs referred to as toy dogs may include Spaniels, Pinschers and Terriers that have been bred down in size. Not all toy dogs are lapdogs,...
s disappear from Earth. Large packs of dogs will also feed on dead penned up cattle. - Security measures in power plants fail. The equipment in the spent fuel buildings adjoining nuclear power plants that maintain the temperature level of the spent nuclear fuel rods will shut down because the fossil fuel powered back up power generators will run out. At that time, the cooling pools that prevent the spent nuclear fuel from overheating will start to boil. Radioactive steam will vent into the atmosphere because the water eventually evaporates and the spent fuel would set fire to the building, causing a (non nuclear) explosion, emitting radiation not only in the immediate area of the plant but carried by winds around the globe. This is repeated dozens of times as shutdown nuclear plant spent fuel houses explode.
Day 10 A.H.
- Hungry dogs from cities flee to the countryside.
- Six days after their water and food supplies began ending, dairy cows have completely finished them and died. Now, their rotting carcasses will do nothing more than sustain hungry dogs. On the other hand, not all cows are dead. Beef cattleBeef cattleBeef cattle are cattle raised for meat production . The meat of cattle is known as beef. When raised in a feedlot cattle are known as feeder cattle. Many such feeder cattle are born in cow-calf operations specifically designed to produce beef calves...
survive and form herds that thrive in places like the North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n Great PlainsGreat PlainsThe Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
. - The last domestic chickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s are exterminated by predators. - Spent nuclear fuelSpent nuclear fuelSpent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor...
for nuclear power plants is generally stored in pools in on-site facilities. Since this water is not replenished, the heat of the fuel rods boils it away and the steamSteamSteam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
pressure causes the storage facilities to explode. The resulting nuclear disasters spread fallout over large areas. Radioactive clouds cross the skies and rainRainRain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
carries the radiationRadiationIn physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
to the ground. Most plants and small animals within the affected zones die. The bigger ones (like deerDeerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
) flee to unaffected regions – not because they notice the radiation, but because of the lack of food. - MiceMICE-Fiction:*Mice , alien species in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*The Mice -Acronyms:* "Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions", facilities terminology for events...
take over abandoned supermarketSupermarketA supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s, where their population explodes thanks to the abundance of food there. This pattern will continue for the next few months until their population is regulated again by the reduction of food and the action of predators like catCatThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s. - SquirrelSquirrelSquirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
s, raccoonRaccoonProcyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s, coyoteCoyoteThe coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s and skunkSkunkSkunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
s begin to colonize human buildings.
3 Months A.H.
- Radiation disappears from the air.
- In cities, air quality and visibility is improved.
- Packs of feral dogsFeralA feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
roam the countryside. Desperate for food, they attack anything – even escaped elephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s. But they don't have any success in this case. Without humans, elephants have no real predators anymore.
6 Months A.H.
- Winter begins in the Northern HemisphereNorthern HemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
. Zoo animals that cannot survive it, like elephants, must migrate to southern latitudes or die. - Without artificial heating, cockroachCockroachCockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
es die by the billions in cold houses. - Animals from the forests like raccoons and skunks seek refuge in human homes to spend winter. During their stay, they cause further damage to the abandoned furnitureFurnitureFurniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
.
10 to 12 months A.H.
- In the springSpring (season)Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
, trees nearer to power plants can't produce buds, but those farther out recover. - Spring rains wash away the radioactive particles from the surface and carry it further into the ground, cleaning plants and objects.
- Meanwhile, new plants and trees remove the artificial CO2Carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
from the atmosphere. - Without hunting seasonHunting seasonA hunting season is the time when it is legal to hunt and kill a particular species.In the United States, each state has primary responsibility and authority over the hunting of wildlife that resides within state boundaries. State wildlife agencies that sell hunting licenses are the best source of...
s, animals breed undisturbed. Some species in areas with no natural predators, like the white tail deer, see population booms and expand their distribution to new areas, including former cities. - MossMossMosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
starts to grow over roads.
3 to 15 years A.H.
- Roads appear degraded and cracked by the ice of multiple winters with no maintenance. Their surfaces are covered by moss and grass grows in the cracks.
- New trees grow in home gardens.
30 years A.H.
- Devastated by solar windSolar windThe solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 1.5 and 10 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed over time...
s, artificial satellites return to Earth in the form of shooting starShooting StarShooting star is a common name for the visible path of a meteoroid as it enters the atmosphere to become a meteor.Shooting star may also refer to:* Shooting Star Children's Hospice, a UK children's charity* The Shooting Star, a 1942 Tintin adventure...
s. Some of their pieces make it to the ground and start some fires. - House roofs collapse, allowing trees to grow in their interior.
- Scoured by hurricane after hurricane, the East Coast of the United StatesEast Coast of the United StatesThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
is slowly cleaned of buildings. Southern states like FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
are completely swept away. - In the oceanOceanAn ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
, the remains of former shipShipSince the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s serve as foundations for the formation of coral reefs. - CerealCerealCereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
fields are turned into grasslands or overrun by expanding forests. The same happens to cities as grass and trees take root on streets and buildings. - In New York City, Central ParkCentral ParkCentral Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
is getting bigger, taking over Times SquareTimes SquareTimes Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
. - Panes of window glass fall from buildings to the streets.
- Birds of prey make their nestNestA nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
s and hunt rodentRodentRodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s in skyscraperSkyscraperA skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
s. - Paint is weathered away after years of exposure to rain. MetalMetalA metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
in cars and other human structures is exposed to oxidation and disintegration. - ConcreteConcreteConcrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
begins to collapse due to moisture.
60 years A.H.
- Skyscrapers around the world begin to collapse.
- Sea life has completely recovered from overfishingOverfishingOverfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....
and is thriving. - Though there are still dogs, dog breeds do not exist anymore, erased by generations of free reproduction. Many of the feral dogDogThe domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
breeds have died out due to neutering, resulting in a genetic bottleneck in the remaining dogs. Survivors mate with wolves. - In EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the largely decreased wolf population expands into the countries where it was completely exterminated, like GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Upon reaching the ruins of cities, wolves come into contact with feral dogs living there, competing with them for food or breeding with them, erasing the last traces left of domesticationDomesticationDomestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...
.
150 years A.H.
- Winters are colder than in the last days of the human race.
- Remains of ships and bridges form damDamA dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s in the Thames, flooding the ruins of LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and turning the British capital back into the swampSwampA swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
it was before Roman timesRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. - Imperial ValleyImperial ValleyThe Imperial Valley is an agricultural area of Southern California's Imperial County. It is located in southeastern Southern California, centered around the city of El Centro. Locally, the terms "Imperial Valley" and "Imperial County" are used synonymously. The Valley is bordered between the...
, once the biggest producer of fruits in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, returns to a sandy desert. - Dry winds still maintain most of Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
buildings intact. They serve as a refuge for vultureVultureVulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
s and desert lizardLizardLizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s now.
200 years A.H.
- Most of the dams on the Colorado RiverColorado RiverThe Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
are destroyed due to excessive water pressure. The Hoover DamHoover DamHoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
survives, but water passes over it forming a cascadeWaterfallA waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
. For the first time in centuries, the Colorado River once again reaches the Sea of Cortez as a flood, not a stream and gives birth to a vast estuaryEstuaryAn estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
full of animal life. - The coast of LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
is reshaped. - Old codfish reach six feet long.
- All whaleWhaleWhale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
species have recovered to their pre-human populations. Without the interference of noisy naval alarms, they can hear the mating calls of other whales from 2000 miles away. - Remains of large ships appear on beaches all over the world, after two centuries of errant journeys over (and under) the waves.
- The excess of CO2 in the atmosphere is completely eliminated by plants and trees.
230 years A.H.
- The upper half of the Eiffel TowerEiffel TowerThe Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
collapses and falls into the new Seine River's marshMarshIn geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
. Thousands of feral pigs (descendants of both domestic pigDomestic pigThe domestic pig is a domesticated animal that traces its ancestry to the wild boar, and is considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species in its own right. It is likely the wild boar was domesticated as early as 13,000 BC in the Tigris River basin...
s and wild boars) live under the Tower's legs and are regularly hunted by wolves. - The right arm of the Statue of LibertyStatue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
falls to the ground. The head follows some time later. - The eastern half of North America is entirely covered by thick forests with trees that grow up to 90 feet tall.
- Human structures still survive under forest humus. From time to time rains and rivers wash humus away uncovering concrete beams, plasticPlasticA plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
s, cellphones and stainless steelStainless steelIn metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
objects. - Tens of millions of bisonAmerican BisonThe American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
, cattleCattleCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s make up gigantic herds in the Western North American plains. - The Great Sphinx of GizaGreat Sphinx of GizaThe Great Sphinx of Giza , commonly referred to as the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining or couchant sphinx that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt....
is buried again in the sands of the SaharaSaharaThe Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
.
1000 years A.H.
- The Eiffel Tower has lost all but its four legs.
- The Statue of Liberty has fallen to pieces and only its pedestal still stands.
25000 years A.H.
- Earth enters a new Ice AgeIce ageAn ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
and glacierGlacierA glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s expand south covering most of the Northern Hemisphere. The last traces of New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
are completely erased. - However, evidence left by Moon exploration missions will survive intact for not only thousands, but millions of years after mankind has vanished. They will be the last legacy of the human race.
Cities featured
- TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, - ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, - BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, - LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, - ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, - New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, - Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, - TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
,
Comparison to Life After People
As with Life After PeopleLife After People
Life After People is a television documentary series where scientists and other experts speculate about what the Earth might be like if humanity no longer existed, as well as the impact humanity's disappearance might have on the environment and the artificial aspects of civilization...
, the similar special feature on the History Channel, Aftermath does not explain how humanity disappeared, but rather what would happen to the Earth after we disappeared. It also shows that humans have disappeared instantly, not a few at a time. Both series depicts the possible fates of famous pieces of infrastructure and buildings. It, too, uses CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
dramatizations to depict the possible fate of such icons as the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
and, in both programs, the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
and Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
. However, it does not emphasize this as much as Life After People does, following much more closely the effects on the natural world and its recovery after mankind departs the scene.
In addition, unlike Life After People, Aftermath depicts what would happen if various modes of transportation—such as automobiles, planes, and trains—are abandoned in mid-motion when their passengers and operators instantly disappear, not unlike the Rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
in Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
. Life After People does not show what would happen to these vehicles left in motion.
Also, Aftermath shows what would happen if a nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
's spent fuel rods are left without the cooling equipment governing its condition. Life After People suggest that nuclear power plants would safely shut down with no ill effects with no mention of what would happen to spent fuel rods in storage. However, in an episode of Life After People: The Series, "Toxic Revenge", spent fuel rods are shown 10 days after people heating up and exploding the reactors containing it. Aftermath also shows that the nuclear power plants themselves would shut down without incident, but the spent fuel rod storage in separate buildings would eventually blow up and spread radiation into the air and the surrounding countryside after the backup safety devices fail, due to lack of fuel a few days after the main power plant supplying power shutdown. Life After People also does not mention the release of poisonous gas from chemical plants when their safety features fail, lacking the fuel to run them.
Life After People does however talk about the Hoover Dam still generating power after people, but neither show talks about the things powered by batteries and solar power. In the Life After People episode, "Crypt of Civilization", watches with batteries are shown to last at least a year after us. In another episode, "Waves of Devastation", one of the landmarks the episode centers around is the ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...
on the Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica Pier
The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier located at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California and is a prominent, 100-year-old landmark.-Pacific Park:...
, that features LED lights that run automatically at night, powered by solar power. In another episode, "Sin City Meltdown", Springs Preserve's visitor center in Las Vegas is powered by the sun, and so the recorded voices of man still echo, until ten years after people, where silt has accumulated on the solar panels and the last vestiges of the human voice vanish.
Aftermath does not talk about the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
while Life After People discusses the fate of the Immortality Drive
Immortality drive
The Immortality Drive is a small memory device which was taken to the International Space Station in a Soyuz spacecraft on October 12, 2008. The Immortality Drive contains digitized DNA sequences of a select group of humans, such as physicist Stephen Hawking, comedian Stephen Colbert, Playboy model...
aboard the ISS. Both documentaries make reference to objects on the Moon, although Life After People does this as part of the miniseries episode "Roads to Nowhere". Unlike Life After People, Aftermath does not comment on the Voyager 2
Voyager 2
The Voyager 2 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977 to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space...
spacecraft. Life After People episode "Sky's The Limit" mentions the Cassini–Huygens Space orbiter. However no other space probes were noted. It should however be noted that the original Life After People documentary made reference to man's radio communications in space.
DVD releases
- Title: Aftermath: Population Zero
- Studio: National Geographic Video
- UPC: 727994753124
- DVD Release Date: August 12, 2008
- Run Time: 90 minutes
See also
- The World Without UsThe World Without UsThe World Without Us is a non-fiction book about what would happen to the natural and built environment if humans suddenly disappeared, written by American journalist Alan Weisman and published by St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books. It is a book-length expansion of Weisman's own February 2005 Discover...
- Life After PeopleLife After PeopleLife After People is a television documentary series where scientists and other experts speculate about what the Earth might be like if humanity no longer existed, as well as the impact humanity's disappearance might have on the environment and the artificial aspects of civilization...
- Cream ProductionsCream ProductionsCream Productions is a Canadian award winning Factual Entertainment company based in Toronto, Ontario. It has produced several documentaries that include Canadian and international content...
- Aftermath (TV series)