I sometimes daydream about what life would be like if I were the last person on earth. At first it might seem like fun, having everybody's toys at your disposal, but have you ever imagined what kinds of processes might run out of control if somebody wasn't actively involved?
For example: I have experience in the wastewater treatment automation industry, and I have witnessed a process at the sewer plant that can only be done by a human, and if left undone results in the failure of the entire plant. There is an area of the sewer plant called the headworks, which is the initial catch basin for all the wastewater coming into the plant. Wastewater is extremely oily, and this oil rises to the surface as the water arrives at the headworks. This results in a large cake of lard accumulating on the surface of the headworks. In Orange County, California, a 1-foot thick cake accumulates on the approximately 50-foot by 50-foot headworks every day. This cake must be pulverized by a man directing a blast of hot water from a fire hose. If the cake is allowed to accumulate, the headworks will overflow.
Of course if there are no people left, there won't be any wastewater flowing, but hopefully you get the idea.
Anyway, does anybody have any firsthand knowledge of other critical hands-on processes that our society depends on?
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
National security. If I was the last person on Earth, who'd fight the terrorists?
Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
Within a few days of the bombing of Hiroshima, domesticated dogs had reverted to hunting in packs.
Posted by Will B (Member # 7931) on :
Food production and delivery. Repair of pretty much anything. Medical treatment. Flying or driving (will make the first hours of solitude exciting). Movie reviews.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
If you are the last man on earth, I'm fairly certain you will be cowering in fear of the sentient robots who exterminated us...
Maybe I've read too much sci-fi, though.
Posted by Damien.m (Member # 8462) on :
I dont have any experiance in this field but i imagine that over time every nuclear reactor in the world would malfunction spewing nuclear waste into the surrounding areas, perhaps a few of them would meltdown thus making many places compleatly uninhabitable. But hey if you are the last person in the world im sure ull find a safe place somewhere
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
quote:Within a few days of the bombing of Hiroshima, domesticated dogs had reverted to hunting in packs.
I don't know about the few days part, but similar things have been observed in New Orleans.
Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
I wonder about dams. Does somebody have to manually open the flood gates, or is that all automated? I think a lot a dams would probably wash out eventually from lack of attention.