The following is my take on a selection from Environmental Studies, by Thomas Easton. This is it in a nutshell, tried to get the just of what the author was saying. Please leave a comment of your take on these issues.
This reading is based on why societies fail or succeed, and what sets them apart.
Collapses are not usually one big extinguishment, but instead a series of failures that lead to an overall collapse.[i] Things like political changes and economic changes can cause these minor declines that aid in a collapse. The lively hood of neighbouring societies can have a serious affect on the well being of your own society. Societies that experience these changes on a major scale are places like Easter Island in the Pacific, where events unfold and the collapse is a result.
Seeing monumental structures these societies have created, leaves us wondering how such a powerful place could fail. The assumption that even great societies can fail leads us to believe that our modern society, as technology advanced we are, could still suffer the same effect.
Evidence from leading scientists in various fields of science has showed that environmental degradation leads to some of these collapses. Things like deforestation, erosion, water management, over hunting, introduction of new species, over population and an increased appetite for resources are the variables that can lead to collapse. Societies damage their environment and are left with no resources to keep it alive, as a result it faces countless declines and collapse.
The overlying theme is that as a population grows, it depends on more resources that are taken from the environment. As a result resources are farmed from new, less fertile places, or are not extracted sustainably. This aids in the collapse of societies as the environment is usually poorly maintained and damaged to the extent of it not producing those resources anymore.
Today we face the same environmental degradation as past societies, we are growing to fast, damaging our environment in the process, creating new problems; human-caused climate changed, build up of toxic chemicals in the environment, energy shortages, and full human utilization of the Earths photosynthetic capacity. i
If we do not correct these bad habits now, we face the same fate as their past societies that have failed. This time because of the lack of resources, disease, and war over resources. However some argue that with our technology today, it will help solve our problems. One can not wonder if there mighty societies of the past, with their engineering, and monumental structures, had thought the same thing about their technologies.
Can we learn from their mistakes and apply what they have taught us to our society today? Its hard to say if something that has worked for past societies will have the same outcomes in today’s day and age.
We now know the seriousness of our impact on the environment, compared to past societies. Our knowledge could help us evade this environmental collapse. Signs are all around us, telling us on bathroom walls, in the news and on television, warning us to lower our environmental footprint (or impact).
Looking at past collapsed societies and those that have not, we have come to some distinguished signs that can either help us understand society collapse better, or help us avoid it altogether. There are five factors that will aid or hurt the outcome of a society.
1. How fragile or resilient a society is; based on environmental services such as forest degradation, how fertile the land around you is, how many species spawn and flourish in the environment will greatly affect your society’s survival
2. Climate. Humans aren’t the only factor affecting the Earth’s climate. Things like solar output, volcanic activity, Earths tilt, and plate tectonics can greatly affect a survival or collapse.
3. Neighbouring societies (hostile). If a society is close to another, there may be hostile activity between the two that can result in collapse for either. This is amplified if you account previous reasons such as susceptibility and health of one’s society. If a society is weak, it may be at risk.
4. Abandonment by neighbouring societies. If a society counts on another society for resources or general well being, if something happens to one, it will be felt by both. On the extreme side if one society is lost and can no longer supply the other for trade, both could collapse.
5. Response; take action or not. Based on government, monetary possession, and cultural values, the type of response will be greatly affected. Some societies choose to react to a problem, while others may not, or choose a different reaction all together. These choices can affect the outcome of a society’s success or collapse.
Today we have too sides to our environmental reactions that either can aid or hurt the survival of our society. On one side the believers, also known as the environmentalists. This group believes our response to global environmental problems (over population, sustainability, etc) should be resolved before anything else to aid in our societies survival.
The other side are the non-environmentalists; this group believes that our planet can support further growth (population, economic, etc) and that the environmental concerns are exaggerated and mislead.
Author Jared Diamond, sees himself as one who is partially environmentalist, as he has had a love for birds, the wilderness and his family for many years. But also sees himself as someone whos been in big business throughout his life, feeling for his former employers.
Diamond believes some big businesses are beneficial to the environment, and have little to no affect on the landscape and wildlife, while other businesses are destructive and aid in the degredation of our environment. Diamond goes on to say that to make sustainable changes, environmentalists need to engage with the non environmentalists, instead of pointing fingers are each other, needing to work together for positive, long lasting environmental protection.
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