DURHAM, N.C. – Award-winning journalist Alan Weisman will discuss and sign copies of his book, The World Without Us, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, in Love Auditorium at the Levine Science Research Center on 91’s West Campus.

This event is free and open to the public. It will be followed by a book signing and reception in the Hall of Science.  Parking is available in the Bryan Center lot.  

The World Without Us ponders the consequences of what would happen if the human species were suddenly extinguished. Among other things, Weisman speculates that days after our disappearance, pumps keeping Manhattan’s subways dry would fail, tunnels would flood, soil under streets would sluice away and the foundations of towering skyscrapers built to last for centuries would start to crumble. At the other end of the chronological spectrum, anything made of bronze might survive in recognizable form for millions of years – along with one billion pounds of degraded but almost indestructible plastics manufactured since the mid-20th century. 

The reading is sponsored by the Dean’s Office of the Nicholas School of the Environment.

Weisman has written for Harper’s, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Discover,The Los Angeles Times Magazine, and NPR.  He is a senior radio producer for 91lands Productions and teaches international journalism at the University of Arizona.  His essay, “Earth Without People” (Discover magazine, February 2005), on which The World Without Us expands, was selected for Best American Science Writing 2006.