The World Without Us

particles polluting the oceans, 113–14, 114–16, 116–18, 118–19, 119–20, 120–23, 123–24, 124–25, 125–26, 126–28

photodegradation of, 126

Styrofoam, 118, 131

See also

polymer

plastic bags

ecological damage from, 116–17

plastic particles

polluting the oceans, 113–14, 114–16, 116–18, 118–19, 119–20, 120–23, 123–24, 124–25, 125–26, 126–28, 264

sources of, 116–17

Pliny, 247

plutonium, 202

Chernobyl, 214–15

half-life, 202

Plym River (U.K.), 112, 113

Plymouth (U.K.), 112–13

World War II, 112

Poland

Białowieża Puszcza, 9–10, 10, 11, 12–13, 13–14, 217

and World War II, 22

polymer

Bakelite, 115, 118, 237

biodegradation of, 17–18, 18, 125–26, 127–28

consumption after 1945, 118–19

ecological damage from, 119–20

natural polymers, 118

particles polluting the oceans, 113–14, 114–16, 116–18, 118–19, 119–20, 120–23, 123–24, 124–25, 125–26, 126–28

photodegradation of, 126

rubber, 130–32

Styrofoam, 118, 131

See also

plastic; plastic particles

POPs (persistent organic pollutants), 159, 165

population, 271–72

control of, 272–73

Portland cement, 175

Potts, Rick, 70

Poulton, Paul, 162–64

primates and monkeys, 45–46, 47–48, 50–51

and AIDS, 86–87

primates

baboons, 87

chimpanzees, 45, 46–47, 47–48, 50–51

gorillas, 51

spider monkeys, 3

Pripyat (Russia), 216

Rackham, Oliver, 150–51

radio-transmission towers

danger to birds, 193–94

radio waves, 274

radiation, 36, 202–3

birds, effect on, 214–16

genetic mutations, 217, 217–18

meltdowns, 212–13, 213–14, 214–16

ultraviolet rays, 203–4

at various weapons sites, 207–8, 208–9

See also

Chernobyl, nuclear fission; plutonium; uranium

radiation waste, 202–3

hazard to animals, 209

storage of, 206–8, 208–9

vitrification, 208

Rathje, William, 119–20

reactors, 36, 209–11, 212, 213, 212–13, 213–14, 214–16

meltdowns, 212–13, 213–14, 214–16

red-crowned cranes, 186–87

Rewilding Institute, 271

rhinos. See

black rhinos

Riddle, Chris, 15

Rio Chagres, 175–76, 177–79

Rocky Flats (CO), 207–8, 208–9

caution signs, 209

Rocky Mountain Arsenal (CO), 207

Rohwer, Forest, 261–62, 273–74

Roosevelt, Theodore, 66, 174, 181, 181–82

Rossi, Mark, 245–46

Rothamsted Manor (Harpenden, U.K.), 151, 151–53, 153–57, 157–159, 162–165

specimen collection, 154–57

Rothamsted Research, 152–53, 153–57, 157–59, 162–65

Broadbalk and Geescroft Wildernesses, 162–64, 164

Roundup (glyphosate), 161

Rowland, F. Sherwood, 204

rubber, 130–32

plantations, 2–3

synthetic rubber, 131–32

tires, 130–31

vulcanization, 130–31

Sagan, Carl, 248–51, 252

Sagrada Familia basilica, 19

Sahara Desert, 75–76, 168

Sala, Enric, 259, 264, 264–65

Salzman, Linda, 249

San Francisco Bay Area

BART subway system, 105

San Francisco Peaks

erosion of, 120–21

Sanderson, Eric, 22–23, 32–33

Santa Cruz River, 65

Santi, Ana María, 1–3

Santian, Noonkokwa, 85

Santian, Partois ole, 83, 84–86, 86–87

Savannah River Site (SC)

Defense Waste Processing Facility, 207–8

Scherbov, Sergei, 272

Schuber, Paul, 24–26

Scientific Romance, A (Wright), 165

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 256

Serengeti Plain (Tanzania), 84–86

Seven Wonders of the World, 172–73

Shakespeare Garden (Cental Park, NYC), 30

Ship Channel, 134, 135

Chinese tallow tree, 140–41, 143–44

without humans, 142, 143

Siberian tigers, 190

Sinan, Mimar, 102

slavery

Africa, effect on, 77–78

and maneating lions, 77

Mombasa, 77

sloths, 62

fossils, 54

Giant ground sloth (Megatherium americanum), 62

Shasta ground sloth, 57–58

Smith, Jennifer, 258

Smithsonian Institution, 68

soil

Dioxins, 156

heavy metals, 29, 31, 158–59, 159, 221

PAHs (polyaromatic hydrocarbons), 156, 165, 267

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), 125–26, 156, 159, 267

pH levels, 153, 155

POPs (persistent organic pollutants), 159, 165

toxins in, 157–59

See also

fertilizer

South America

biological interchange, 180–81

and bird extinctions, 199

Clovis people in, 60

marsupial mammals, 180

Meso-Americans, European diseases and, 61

rubber plantations, 2

slash-and-burn, 12, 167–68

Zápara Indians, 1–3

Southeast Asia

rubber plantations, 2

See also

Asia

Sözen, Mete, 102–5

space

asteroids, 230, 231

Big Bang theory, 270

constellation Hercules, 253

Frank Drake’s radio greeting, 253

electromagnetic radio waves, 252–54

as expanding bubble, 275

exploration, 16

I Love Lucy broadcasts, 253–54

Pioneer spacecrafts, 249, 252

transhumanists and, 243–44

Voyager spacecrafts, 248–51, 254

Spanish-American War, 174

Spinney, Laura, 165–66

stainless steel

deterioration of, 18

Stalin, Josef, 10

Statue of Liberty (NYC), 37, 246–47

Sterling Chemical, 135

accident at, 136

Stevenson, Dennis, 31

Styrofoam, 118, 131

subways, 24–26

and earthquakes, 105

flooding in, 25–26, 35–36

Istanbul, 105

Montreal, 105

Moscow, 105

New York City, 25–26, 35–36, 105

San Francisco Bay Area, 105

Suez Canal, 174, 175

Sunim, Hyon Gak, 189

Takada, Hideshige, 124–25, 125

Tamar River, 112

Temple, Stanley, 197–98

Teraina (Washington), 259, 260

Tesla, Nikola, 252, 254

Texas

Brazos de Dios River, 142, 143

Galveston, 135, 143–44

Houston, 132, 133–34, 134–35, 141–44

petrochemical industry, 132–33, 135–36, 136, 138–40

Ship Channel, 134, 135, 140–41, 142, 143

Texas City, 135–36, 136–38

Valero Energy Corporation and, 136