But the
model predicted other changes that destroyed nearly all life on Earth
within a few years."
"Like what?" Zip's voice was dusky.
"I'm sounding like a textbook," complained Mark.
"Go on," insisted Zip.
Mark closed his eyes and tilted his head back. "A few hours after the
impact, clouds of noxious gases billow up and block out the sun for
months. Temperatures drop drastically all over the Earth and corrosive
acid snow and rain fall. These short-term effects alone-intense cold,
darkness, and acid rain and snow-kill the plants and photosynthetic
plankton, the base of most food chains. Herbivores starve, and then the
carnivores that feed on the herbivores starve. This is enough to kill
most of the remaining human life on the planet. After the clouds clear,
the atmosphere is thick with carbon dioxide from fires and decaying
matter. Then the carbon dioxide contributes to global warming that
lasts for ages."
Tears slowly escaped from Zip's closed eyes and made tracks down his
cheeks. He remembered that when he was small his aunt and uncle had
taken him on a two-hour flight in their small plane to the place
closest to their home where there was a field of nuclear devastation.
His first view of the terrain beyond the boundary had been indelibly
burned into his seven-year-old mind.
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