MEXICO: Animal extinctions, holes in the ozone and ocean acidification are a few examples of the enormous impact humans have had on Earth. But what would happen if humans suddenly vanished?
It’s a fun thought experiment, and Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown gave us their take in the latest ASAP Science video released Friday January 30.
It’s easy to imagine an empty, desolate planet with crumbling cities overrun with weeds and vines in a human-free world. But it would take a long time to reach that kind of calm equilibrium. The first few weeks without humans would be absolute chaos, according to ASAP Science.
First, power plants would fizzle out. Then, with no more electric fences to corral them, about 1 billion pigs, 1.5 billion cows and 20 billion chickens would break out of their pens in search of food. These domesticated animals are dependent on humans, so its likely that many would starve. Some would meet a more grisly fate and become food for wild dogs and cats.
Many of our prize, dog show and cat show-winning breeds are not suited for life in the wild, and more resilient mixed breeds, wolves, and wildcats would wipe them out. Rats and cockroaches would sorely miss the trash we produce, and their population would plummet. Head lice would go completely extinct.
