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We always hear jokes about cockroaches easily outliving humans but according to Alan Weisman, author of The World Without Us, this is probably won't happen. Without heated shelter, roaches in temperate climate would last two winters at the most in a post-human world. Weisman also explains that New York City subways would "impassably flood" within two days, the Panama Canal would close in 20 years, lead would finally be cleansed from the soil in 35,000 years, and eventually microbes would evolve to biodegrade plastic.
This makes for a fascinating and provocative thought experiment but, of course, we humans are still here and there's desperately important work to be done. On this human-dominated planet, we must learn to live sustainably and be more mindful in our daily choices. Let's not speculate on the future prospects on cockroaches when we should be re-evaluating our way of life.
Good place to start? Go veggie.
