Easter Island

If I had to list ten books that most influenced my way of thinking, one would be Jared Diamond’s Collapse.  The author examines a number of cultures and their demise.  The collapse sometimes occurred within a few decades.  Among these cultures was that of Easter Island, familiar to us by the large stone heads that dot the island.  

At one time Easter Island was full of trees.  They were used for canoes for off-shore fishing, for habitat for birds that the Easter Islanders ate, for sap that was used to make wine and sugar, and for leaves to thatch the houses.  The trees were eventually all cut down, ending the Easter Island civilization.  When the first European explorer, Jacob Rogeveen reached the island in 1722, no trees grew taller than ten feet and no people were left on the island.

Diamond writes:  

I have often asked myself, “What did the Easter Islander who cut down the last palm tree say while he was doing it?”  Like modern loggers, did he shout, “Jobs, not trees!”? Or: “Technology will solve our problems, never fear, we’ll find a substitute for wood”?  Or:  “We don’t have any proof that there aren’t palms somewhere else on Easter, we need more research, your proposed ban on logging is premature and driven by fear mongering”?  Similar questions arise for every society that has inadvertently damaged its environment, including ours.

I think it is a great quote.  I would change one word in the last sentence, though.  I’d substitute “knowingly” for “inadvertently.”