From the Oil Drum:
This is a case study in which you are invited to answer the question, “What did the Easter Islander who cut down the last palm tree say while he was doing it?”
For a several years, I have been intrigued by this question which Jared Diamond asks us to consider in his book ‘Collapse’.
In fact, the question can be asked more broadly: “What were the thought processes and discussions amongst the inhabitants of Easter Island leading up to the removal of the last remnants of forest?” This could be seen, perhaps, as a hypothetical exploration, rooted in a real historical event, of “the psychology of resource depletion denial.”
http://anz.theoildrum.com/node/6333
1 comment:
David French writes:
Ron has been releasing regularly a series of very responsible and useful comments and observations. This most recent posting is about people who press the pedal to the floor until the gas tank is empty. The point is, there were Easter Islanders who continued to cut down trees even after it was apparent that the island would suffer severely from deforestation. "It's not me who is deforesting this island" said the last axman, "It's all the others who have been cutting down the trees". Ironically, this last Easter Islander was absolutely right.
The message of this anecdote is to draw attention to whether we are behaving in a similar manner. The equivalent quote is: "I'm going to drive my SUV until the last drop of low-price oil has been pumped out of the ground." What will our grandchildren say about such behavior? If I had my way, cars
should all carry a bumper sticker reading: "Oil? Leave it in the ground!"
The sooner we get engaged in living the new lifestyle, the lifestyle that our grandchildren will inherit from us, the more comfortably we will be able to rest when lying in our graves. On the other hand, Dick Cheney, the former Vice President of the United States, was absolutely clear as to his attitude when he said: "I will not preside over a change in the American way of living". Those are the people that are out there are cutting down the last trees as we speak.
David J. French
www.Canadapatentblog.com
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