Summary

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Jared Diamond’s “Collapse” takes readers through a history of societies that overtook their ecological limits, and collapsed as a result. The most famous example is that of Easter Island, famed for its sombre giant stone statues – moai. It is not certain, but the moai appear to have been built as part of status competition between the various tribes on the island, with bigger moai demonstrating greater power. The early seventeenth century was probably the pinnacle of Easter Island culture, the time the biggest moai were being built, an echo of the skyscrapers going up across the world from Canary Wharf to Kuala Lumpur. However, moai construction consumed a lot of resources, particularly wood, for transport and energy. By 1650, the last tree had been felled. By the time Europeans arrived on the island’s shores in 1722, the number of Easter Islanders had fallen dramatically, and they had been reduced to wars and cannibalism.

Easter Island reminds us of the danger of only measuring human economic progress, and excluding factors affecting sustainability. In the first half of the seventeenth century, says the archaeological evidence, quality of life in Easter Island may have been at its highest ever. If Easter Islanders had measured well-being, they would have seen increasing life expectancy and life satisfaction. Despite that, or rather because of it, disaster was just around the corner. It appears that nobody on Easter Island was measuring their environmental impact. We ourselves must not forget that our planet is just an island in the universe and that the nearest other “island” is 40 million kilometers away from the Earth!