Of the eight forms of ECOcide that Diamond talks about across examples of past failed societies, choose one to discuss in depth. Bring up as many specific examples of it both in the book as well as contemporary examples you see happening. One paragraph is acceptable as long as you're concise and coherent.
Good luck getting everything else done!
-R
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Alyssa Olson
ReplyDeleteADP:III
Response #12
The civilization I chose to discuss was that of the Mayans. They are one of the most famously known societies and the amount of Ecocide that occurred in their society ultimately led to their destruction. Two of the biggest problems were the deforestation and erosion issues. They built reservoirs to store their rainwater, although during droughts this led to famine because the crops needed rain water to survive and it was all tied up in the reservoirs. The Mayans used a technique of slash and burn farming where they destroyed all the forests in an area to grow crops. Crops were then grown on the same plot until the soil no longer carried nutrients, which then the plot was abandoned. When the Mayan population began to grow instead of moving into the hills and expanding their empire, they instead increased production and caused the person per capita numbers to soar. This caused the amount of food and water to decrease and the land also suffered from such large use. Eventually when the Mayans moved into the hills they left quickly because they were beginning to erode. This was due to the deforestation of the hills in previous years. Lastly one of the largest issues of the Mayan society was in their leaders. Most kings were aware of these ecological problems but were not concerned with them, they instead wanted to erect monuments and wage wars.
Response #12
ReplyDeleteRebecca Tulis
Of all the problems Jared Diamond talks about in Collapse, I believe deforestation is especially significant. As he stated on page 469, “For humans, forests represent much value that becomes jeopardized by cutting them down.” Forests give us timber that is essentially used to make products for our everyday needs. However, they have so many important environmentally beneficial aspects to them. For instance, forests have a lot of nutrients and biodiversity. They also tend to have a lot of rainfall, which is good for the soil and prevents desertification. We see the problem of deforestation affecting societies everywhere. In Collapse, Diamond talks a lot about the deforestation in present day Montana, Easter Island and in Haiti. Montana and Haiti are facing the environmental effects of deforestation at this moment and are unable to take the necessary steps in order to help or stop it. Easter Island, on the other hand, was at one point a subtropical forest and its deforestation led to its demise. Deforestation is a problem faced around the world and the fact of the matter is people may not understand the importance of our forests and how it is vital to our environment.
Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail Or Succeed. New York: Viking, 2005.
WR 12
ReplyDeleteA form of ecocide that Diamond describes is overfishing. Examples arise in the book where the animals are lead to extinction for food purposes. In Henderson (pg 133), edible shells and fish were exterminated due to the overexploitation of fishing. This was not only for food consumption but also arose from habitat destruction. Greenland had a different reason for their overfishing. In 1000 AD, Greenland converted its religion to Christianity, following suit of the Icelandic and Norwegian (pg 243). However, they needed Resident Bishops to make the church consecrated. The Norwegian King sent over a Resident Bishop, and others came after his term from different European areas. The residents preferred their European ways to the Norwegian setting. They believed that the churches should be elaborate and sold resources to buy wine and stained glass for the churches. The churches of the area were modeled after European buildings until 1300, when Hanlsey was erected. The sites were out of proportion with the areas around them. They tended to be over-sized and extravagant. Fishing became involved when the European (and at this point Norwegian natives) began to hunt Narwhal for their ivory tusks. The ivory was exported to Europe and used in the Cathedrals. Walrus and Narwhal skulls are evident in the excavated church sites with traces of ivory. Today, Japan has tried to come up with better fishing practices (pg 299). They incorporate new fishing technologies, use large nets, and do deepwater fishing. They heavily rely on their seafood market as an income and food source for their population.
One of the forms of ecocide that I chose to talk about is deforestation and habitat destruction (soil erosion). One example of a societal collapse due to this ecocide is the Greenland Norse, whose society collapsed due to the deforestation of the trees that makes up Greenland’s landscape, which ultimately ruined the top soil and destroyed the habitat of the natural landscape of Greenland when the Norse were trying to rebuild their settlement in the same manner and view of their life back home. However, they had no knowledge of the landscape and refused to eat fish, and therefore only relied on their livestock for food. The Inuit, who also inhabited Greenland were well adapted to the arctic weather of Greenland and therefore adapted their lifestyle to survive, such as having one of their main food diet being fish. Another example of deforestation and habitat destruction (soil erosion) are the Mayans and their slash and burn farming technique, which eventually eroded their soil to the point in which no more vegetation will grow due to the loss of nutrients of the soil. A contemporary issue of deforestation and habitat destruction (soil erosion) is the deforestation of Costa Rica and Madagascar. As the tree roots hold the soil in place, the continuing deforestation of these areas for agriculture, after rain and wind, the top soil is lost by being carried away by the river.
ReplyDeleteButler, Rhett. “Tropical Rainforests: Disappearing Opportunities.” 1994-2009.
Kristen Zelenka
ReplyDelete8 December 2009
As we recapped in lecture today, the fate of Rapa Nui is from what Diamond describes as ecocide. That culture suffered from lack of resources and then what little they did have, they quickly used up due to population increase. Their culture also suffered from their trade, which brought undesirable animals, like rats, to the island that quickly contaminated the natural ecosystem. Rats also contributed to the deforestation of the island because they probably ate the seeds. Without the Forrest, they lost a lot of biodiversity and a precious resource used in building houses and ships that would help them in their day-to-day lives. One of the most interesting aspects of the island’s culture is the huge sculptures that border the coast. A lot of energy and resources went into them in terms of people power, water, food, and energy. Why were these so important to build when they drain so much energy and they were scarce on the resources they consumed? This reminds me of our contemporary culture where we use way more resources then we have available for things that are not essential to being able to live. This is going to cause us many problems down the road, and it already is causing many concerns. We cannot just put off action by justifying that technology will make our current way of life possible or that more resources will be found. We must learn from the past in order to preserve the future of our culture.
The Mayan culture met its end as a result of its increased demands created by their wars. Despite not having to support larger animals, as they relied completely on the powers they themselves could provide, this put a cap on their level of production. Inventing the wheel and then failing to adapt it for anything beyond toy and games is the hallmark of this failure to evolve. Raising larger animals would have altered their food needs and may have caused the Mayan people to seek other trade parters, which as we have learned would have also lead to their downfall. This beautiful society ultimately succumed to its own need to war within itself, and was unable to sustain such a need.
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ReplyDeleteDeforestation is a major contribution to ecocide. It threatens many species populations, contributes to soil erosion, as well as reduces the amount of oxygen that should normally be produced. Collapse mentions the Mayan's destructive method of slashing and burning soon depleted the area's soil nutrients and made planting very difficult. Another example of ecocide through deforestation is Australia's practice of land clearing. Up until a few decades ago, the Austrailian government enforced a strict policy of clearing a certain percentage of land's excess vegetation. The problem which ensued was soil erosion and salinization. By getting rid of its natural vegetation, Australians face great difficulties planting crops on the land. Salt leaks up from the ground and finds the roots of the crops to soak into rather than the native plants. One example of modern-day deforestation is Haiti. Only 1% of Haiti's forests are intact. This has caused several deadly landslides, as there is a lack of soil support on the hills and cliffs due to the clearing of deep-rooted trees.
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