Collapse

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How I came across this book: The author of Guns, Germs, and Steel

Favorite Line from the book:

When the Easter Islanders got into difficulties, there was nowhere to which they could flee, nor to which they could turn for help; nor shall we modern Earthlings have recourse elsewhere if our troubles increase.

The Anasazi did manage to construct in stone the largest and tallest buildings erected in North America until the Chicago steel girder skyscrapers of the 1880s.

Everything which has a beginning has an end. This is the story of humanity. This is the story of our planet. Collapse is a big book (took me almost two weeks to finish) but, Jared Diamond does not fail in stringing together a solid scientific story of the rise and fall of some of the greatest societies and civilizations over the last ten thousand years. He lays out a five-point framework of possible factors leading to the collapse of these societies: environmental damage, climate change, hostile neighbors, decreased support of friendly trading partners, and failure to adapt because of poor leadership.

Easter Island

Past Societies

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is a remote island on the southeastern Pacific Ocean. More than 800 moai statues surround the island. Some of them are more than ten meters tall, erected almost thousand years ago. Such a feat was impossible to achieve if we look at less than 3,000 native population on the island. A few centuries ago, when the East Islanders were at their pinnacle, they had reached a population of almost 30,000. As the population grew, all the trees were systematically cut down to grow crops, and build a wood-based transportation system to move and erect these massive stone statues. Deforestation led to soil erosion and ultimately loss of plants and vegetables. With the loss of trees, the Islanders could not build any boats and lost the ability to catch fish from the ocean. The ecocide caused a collapse of the society. Pitcairn Island is another remote Pacific island not too far from the Easter Island. They were dependent on their neighbor Mangareva island for food and romantic partners. Mangareva island suffered the same fate as Easter island because of overpopulation and deforestation. As the Mangareva society collapsed, it ultimately led to the collapse of Pitcairn island because of loss of food and genetic pool. In addition to soil erosion, deforestation in the famous Mayan city of Tikal led to clogging up of the irrigation system. Mayan leaders were more interested in building monuments to outshine each other instead of taking care of their society. Vikings conquered the whole of northern Europe but collapsed in Greenland because they did not adapt to the local diet of fish.

Mayan City Tikal

Modern Societies

Rwanda’s genocide in 1994, was an effect of overpopulation. Haiti, the poorest new-world country outside Africa, has suffered the same fate as some of the past societies because of similar reasons: deforestation, climate change, and poor leadership. Mining and deforestation in Montana have caused some major pollution problems threatening their environment.

Some societies have learned from the past and managed to survive over many millennia. Tikopian slaughtered all the pigs on the island to switch to a more efficient diet of fish and vegetables. They have been able to control their population by various forms of natural contraception. More than 80% of Japan is covered with trees because of their reforestation program. Companies should not be allowed to act cavalierly and cause environmental damage. We should create laws to punish them if companies do not act responsibly. Exxon Valdex caused damage to sea life around Alaska in 1989, the company had to pay 3.8$ billion for clean-up. Every citizen has to take the responsibility to save the planet from avoiding the ‘tragedy of the commons.'

We are living at an amazing juncture of time. For the first time, we possess something which our ancestors did not. A few centuries ago, education and writing were only available to the privileged and fortunate. Printing in the fourteenth century made books available to everyone. Recent changes like globalization and internet have made education available to the masses. We can read books like Collapse, discuss our problems on social media and blogs, learn from our history, and build a better future for our children. I will quote one of the most famous monologues from Shakespeare’s as you like it, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” We are all here to play our parts. Whether we like it or not; the story will end one day. It is up to each one of us to decide what kind of role we want to play while the story lasts.