when* humans become extinct

[datasuspect]

does it really matter in geological time?

since the sun's gonna blow up and incinerate everything one day anyway.









*thanks for the tip!

[Deja Q]

1. Dude, you're depressing.

How do you know the sun will snuff it anyway? :P

[datasuspect]

2. it's what happens to stars

has to do with astrophysics and shit.

[Mojambo]

3. When, not if. n/t

[ThomCat]

4. We've already trashed the world thoroughly enough

to leave damage that will last until the end of the world. Even on the scale of geological time, we've fucked things up. x(

How long will it take for toxic waste to break down into non-toxic substances?
How long will it take all the radioactive waste to decay down to insignificant levels?
How long will it take for all the plastic we've created to break down?

And if we go out with a bang, how long will it take the other living things on earth to rebound and evolve to deal with the damage we've caused?

[datasuspect]

8. within thousands of years

the earth would begin healing itself.

within trillions of years, there might be no possible evidence of human existence having ever existed.

[ThomCat]

9. Within only thousands of years

radioactive waste wouldn't have even reached it's first half-life yet.

One of the cable channels, either Discovery or the History Channel, did a special at one point about how long it would take the earth to recover from humanity if we disappeared tomorrow. The basic conclusion is that it would take longer than the earth has left. When the sun finally goes nova some of our waste will still be here poluting the earth.

[Robeson]

5. Hence the need for space exploration...

...but read Kalki, if you haven't already. Pretty much illustrates how life will go on whether we're here or not.

[triguy46]

6. Shit, I can't remember where I read this...

It was a time line that described what would happen to our civilization if all humans disappeared, and included sad things like pets in homes dying, insect infestations, decay of buildings, etc. Its faster than you might think.

[datasuspect]

7. with the cessation of infrastructural deferred maintenance,

most manmade structures would succumb to the elements.