Imagine that all people suddenly disappeared from the planet. The reason is irrelevant. 想象所有人类突然从这星球上消失。原因不重要。

Just imagine the results. Now we are going to tell you what is going to happen after we are gone. 只要想象一下结果。现在我们要来告诉你在我们离开后会发生什么事。

Several hours after humanity disappears, lights all around the world will start to shut down. 在人类消失后几个小时，全世界的灯光会开始熄灭。

Since most power stations work on fossil fuel, without people, there won't be anybody to charge them, so they will stop. 由于多数发电站靠化石燃料运作，没有人类，就不会有任何人替它们添补燃料，所以它们会停摆。

Forty-eight hours after registering a sudden drop in energy consumption, nuclear power plants will switch to safety mode. 在发现能源消耗量骤降四十八小时后，核能发电厂会切换成安全模式。

Windmills will keep working until the lubricant runs out. Solar panels will also eventually become useless due to dust deposits. 风车会继续运转到润滑剂耗尽为止。太阳能板最终也会因为灰尘堆积变得毫无用处。

Nearly every region—except for the ones supplied by hydroelectric power stations—will have their power cut off. 几乎每个地区－－除了那些由水力发电站供电的地方－－都会断电。

On the west of the United States, the generators of Hoover Dam are activated by the water flow from Lake Mead. 在美国西部，胡佛水坝的发电机是由来自米德湖的水流引动的。

Thus, it can be left unattended for several months or even years. 因此，它可以不受人看管地被放置好几个月或甚至好几年。

Two or three days after we vanish from the planet, 我们从这星球上消失后二至三天，

most metros in the world are going to be flooded because the pumps that protect them from the underground waters won't work without people. 世界上大多数地铁将会被淹没，因为保护它们不被地下水淹没的帮浦若没有人类就不会运作。

After 10 days, pets locked at home will start dying of starvation and dehydration. 十天后，被锁在家的宠物将开始因饥饿和脱水死去。

Billions of chickens and millions of cows, as well as other farm animals, will be dead. 数十亿的鸡和数百万的牛只，以及其他农庄动物们，将会死亡。

Those who managed to make their way out will enter a ruthless fight for survival. 那些设法找寻出路的动物将加入无情的生存之战。

In the brutal world of real wildlife, there won't be a niche for decorative cats and dog breeds, and they will be the first to die out. 在真实野生生物的残酷世界中，不会有给装饰性品种的猫犬生存的空间，而且牠们会是最先灭绝的。

Bulldogs' short legs and terriers' small jaws are going to become their main—and quite likely—deadly disadvantages. 斗牛犬的短腿和小型猎犬的短小下颚将满可能会成为牠们最主要的致命不利条件。

A few weeks later, there won't be any small dog breeds left anymore. 几个星期后，将不会有任何品种的小型犬留下。

Big dogs will gather in packs and hunt down smaller breeds, as well as other animals. 大型犬会成群聚集并追捕较小的品种，还有其他动物。

About a month after we disappear, all cooling water on nuclear power stations will have evaporated. 在我们消失后大约一个月，所有核能发电厂的冷却水都将挥发。

This will lead to a series of explosions much stronger than the Fukushima and Chernobyl disasters. 这将导致一连串比福岛和车诺比灾难更剧烈的爆炸。

Millions of animals will die of cancer. 数以百万计的动物将死于癌症。

But overall, the planet will recover from the radioactive contamination rather fast and easily. 但总地来说，这星球会相当快速且容易地从放射性污染中复原。

One year after people disappear, strange stars will start to fall from the sky. 人类消失一年后，奇怪的星体将开始从天而降。

During our space history, we took dozens of thousands of objects to the earth's orbit. 在我们的太空历史期间，我们将无数物体带到地球的运行轨道。

The highest satellites will fall after many years. 最高的人造卫星会在多年后坠落。

After 25 years, three quarters or all squares and sidewalks will be covered with vegetation. 二十五年后，四分之三或全部的广场和人行道将会覆满植物。

Where there are plants, there are herbivorous animals. And where there is prey, there is always a predator. 有植物的地方，就有草食性动物。而有猎物的地方，总是有个掠食者。

The surviving dogs will cross with the wolves that come to the former cities. 存活下来的狗儿会与来到旧城市的狼群竞争。

Without us, the air will become much cleaner. 没有我们，空气会变得更加干净。

In some cities, the visibility range will become several times longer. 在一些城市，能见度的范围会变远好几倍。

Cities like Dubai and Las Vegas will be buried in sand. 杜拜和拉斯韦加斯那些城市会被掩埋在沙中。

The desert will take what belongs to it; so will all of nature. 沙漠会拿回属于它的东西；所有大自然也会如此。

After 300 years, metal constructions such as the Eiffel Tower or steel bridges will start to break, 三百年后，像艾菲尔铁塔或铁桥那样的金属建筑物会开始崩坏，

since, for all these years, there won't be anybody around to paint and protect from corrosion. 因为这些年来，周遭不会有任何人粉刷并防止锈蚀。

Steel rods in armed concrete will bloat up to three times of their initial thickness, and the last tall buildings will go down. 混凝土中的钢筋会膨胀到最初的三倍粗，而最后高楼们会倒塌。

Vast swamps which formerly occupied America will reappear, and hundreds of bird and animal species will return to their unfairly taken home. 从前占据美国的广阔沼泽们会重新出现，且数以百计的禽兽物种会返回牠们被不当夺走的家园。

Large marine animals will also be very glad not to see us. 大型海洋生物也会很高兴不再见到我们。

In the absence of humans, whales will thrive and reproduce to the maximum of the ocean's capacity to feed them. 在人类缺席下，鲸鱼会兴旺成长并大量繁衍至海洋的最大承载量。

This is how modern cities will look after 500 years without people. 这是现代都市在人类消失五百年后的样子。

After 10,000 years, the only reminiscence that people were here someday will be the remains of a few stone constructions, 一万年后，人类曾在这里的唯一回忆仅会是一些石头建筑物的残留，

among which the pyramids in Egypt and the Great Wall of China. 其中有埃及的金字塔和中国的万里长城。

Mount Rushmore National Memorial will be there almost intact for several hundreds of thousands of years. 拉什穆尔山国家纪念公园会几乎完整无缺地在原处数十万年。

In 50 million years, plastic bottles and pieces of broken glass will be the last traces of our civilization. 五千万年后，塑料瓶和玻璃碎片将会成为我们文明的最后痕迹。

In another 50 million years, they will be gone as well. 再过五千万年，它们同样也会消失。

As you can see, our planet is quite sturdy and can get rid of all of our trash. 如你所见，我们的星球挺经久耐用，而且可以除去我们所有的垃圾。

If, after 300 million years or later, there will be a new rational species, they might not even notice there was a civilization before. 如果，在三亿年或更久之后，出现一个新的理性物种，他们甚至可能不会注意到过去曾有过一个文明世界。

So, our planet can perfectly do without us—but we can't without her. Save the planet. 所以，我们的星球没有我们也能完好地生存－－但我们没有她不行。救救这星球吧。