36% of US global warming emissions comes from approximately 501 coal-burning power plants - that's more than the emissions from 377 million cars.

Read that little factoid again and just take it in.  Over half of the electricity generated in the United States comes from the burning of coal and that coal account for well over a third of America's emissions.

I don't know about you but I love a good documentary.  And no, I don't mean E! True Hollywood Story.  I mean honest, objective, heartfelt filmmaking with the facts laid bare.

» Burning the Future

Even if you haven't seen the movie I am Legend starring Will Smith, chances are you have at least seen the trailer with the images of Will Smith's character hunting a deer in the streets of Manhattan before a lion (presumably escaped from a zoo) spoils Will's dinner plans.

I'm not one to dwell on thoughts of armageddon or mass extinction of the human race, but you can't deny that we human beings can make an awful mess of the planet.  So what would happen if we were all gone?  What would happen to our pets, our cities, our world?

It's a fascinating concept and one that is explored thoroughly in the big-budget production of the History Channel documentary Life After People, which premieres tonight at 9:00PM (8:00 Central) on the History Channel.

This isn't just a bunch of science nerds making baseless wild predictions.  They go on the ground to places like Chernobyl and investigate remote islands to observe what's actually happened there.  Then they can scale-out this information to cities, suburbs, even entire continents.  All rendered with the latest in computer animation for full effect.

Hit the jump for a preview and be sure to set your Tivos!

» The History Channel