Your house without you, or nature's demolition job

What would happen to your house if you -- and everyone around you --suddenly disappeared? Would your lawn grow lush with lavender plants? Would your fireplace turn into a beehive? And if so, how quickly?

Now you can visualize your house without you via this 2-minute animation. How long do you think it would take your house to disintegrate, leaving no trace of your having lived in it? Pick a number (of years), then watch this:

The animation's part of the promotion for Alan Weisman's book "The World Without Us" -- a book that I thought sounded intriguing, but didn't read because it also sounded really, really depressing. I mean, this is a book that shows, in a sense, how unnecessary we humans are. If we died out, the ecosystem would continue on -- corroding our subways while helping birds and animals and plants flourish.

But the animation's piqued my interest now. Plus, the book appears to have a silver lining. According to the book's website: "As [Weisman] shows which human devastations are indelible, and which examples of our highest art and culture would endure longest, Weisman's narrative ultimately drives toward a radical but persuasive solution that doesn't depend on our demise."

I'll pick up the book soon. In the meantime: How close was your guess for the time it'd take for your house to integrate?

Thanks to Mary Forgione, LATimes.com's deputy web editor for travel and books, for the tip.

Comments

[Gman]

Time to diintegration is probably a function of geography and natural events. A couple more Katrina's and New Orleans could be toast in ten years! If your house is in snow country one big winter could collapse the roof and make for very rapid disintegration.

As for the maintained landscapes, broad-leaf trees around SoCal homes would die off in a couple years without irrigation. Designing against nature is effort/energy intensive.

Soon enough those of us who survive the energy crunch will be huddled in our tents relatively close to the mild ocean climes.

[A. Yelvington]

I regret that the video is a bit optimistic. The volume of synthetic materials in homes would leave a scar that will last milleniums. Glass and plastic would remain to leave a long-lasting scar. The only hope would be that the bed of decayed vegetation would slowly bury it.

We've left an indelible mark on this planet. Hoping that Mother Nature will do that much damage control that fast is a dream.

[jrb]

ITA Yelvington.

The massive plastic flotsam seas in the Pacific will be killing sea life, and washing up on beaches for a long, long time.

[Leah]

That was a fun video. Thanks for posting it. :)
I am on the road a lot and see bits of old houses that have been abandoned, the state of disrepair is anywhere from the whole house standing to just a chimney or part of a wall. It's very interesting to see.