The question is, as asked and attempted to answer by almost every scholar who studies about Rapa Nui’s anthropologist history, environmental history and archeology, that is deforestation the main reason of societal destruction. Peiser mentions that deforestation is the most important evidence held by Diamond and many scholars who see Rapa Nui as an example of ecocide (Peiser, 2005). Diamond is definitely not the first scholar, who links deforestation to Rapa Nui’s societal collapse; back in the 1970s, William Mulloy was one of the first scholars who suggests that deforestation is the cause of societal collapse, based on the point that pollen data has suggested that there were once native palm trees on the island (Peiser, 2005). Later in the …show more content…
By that time, Rapa Nui have only around 111 surviving inhabitants left on the island; in short, a total state of decline, as suggested by the foreign visitors. This time is also after the Rapanuis has experienced a series of brutal, inhuman slave raider captures, and as mentioned earlier, that numbers of them were sent back to the island with smallpox diseases infection, which later on were spread to the remaining islanders, leading to the state of decline. At that point of history, Rapa Nui’s tradition and culture were at a point of distinction because the remaining survivors were just trying to, basically, survive. This is where in the point of history that the catholic missionaries arrived to the island and written reports based on a few oral interviews with the islanders, which is, in Peiser’s view, an unclear and unreliable source that generates the myths passed on by later generation (Peiser, 2005). While the European slave raiders have taken away many of their lives, the Tahiti bishop and other western missionaries have destroyed their culture. However, Diamond has never acknowledged this part of the history in his studies, which creates a significant problem, as recalled by Peiser. Diamond on the other hand only repeatedly criticizes the natives’ acts on destroying the environment has leaded to the distinction of an island of people and their civilization (Peiser, 2005). In other worlds, Diamond purposely chooses to believe depict the Rapanuis as a violent bunch of people who just fit into the barbarian stereotype and that they started civil wars to fight for resources; this, as suggested by Peiser, may however be something told by the missionaries
In the article by Jared Diamond, many interesting theories are discussed about Easter Island’s history and decline. Diamond makes connections to the environmental challenges we face today and he compares the catastrophe of Easter Island to our current over consumption of natural resources. While this article makes for an interesting read, much of it is offered from a single perspective and little counter evidence is offered. The author writes in a way that could engage a non-academic audience who may not be interested in counter evidence, or proper referencing. The article lacks credibility due to its narrow scope and conversational diction. At the root of this discussion however, is the notion that the Rapa Nui people were
The establishment of BCP could also help improving the environment. As we know, brownfield possess of hazardous substance that could potentially harm human health. By cleaning up brownfields, risk for human health could be reduced significantly. Other than that, redeveloping brownfields could conserve up to 4.5 times more greenfields sprawl development. Greenfield means land that there is nothing built on it before. By utilizing brownfield redevelopment, it could create an opportunity for environmentally-responsible accommodation of population growth. Furthermore, it could improve air quality as well. Air pollution due to transportation could be reduced up to 40%. This is benefited from urban compact development on brownfields. Lower energy
"steward" is used to mean that no one can truly "own" the land, it can only be
Vancouver has a really big deforestation problem because they need more room and wood to make house for the people that live there. It's not just homes people need furniture and many products made from wood and because of the population increased people have to cut down a lot of forest. With in/around the last 50 years or so the Vancouvers deforestation has been catastrophic. Most of Vancouver Island has been converted from vibrant forests to young tree farms that do not sustain the natural range of species. Lack of lichen growing on old boreal trees is one of the reasons that almost all of Canada's woodland caribou herds are currently predicted to die out before the next century. Because of deforestation the climate in vancouver has change
They believe Rapa Nui was first settled in YEAR AND SOURCE and while humans did play a part in deforestation, they knew better that to just cut down every tree on the island. Lipo and Hunt believe rats played the biggest role in their society’s loss of trees. Rats would eat the seeds that fell to the ground and as the rat population grew more and more seeds were eaten, preventing the natural replenishment of the forests. In their opinion, Rapa Nui’s population never exceeded 15,000 people and their population actually continued to increase once the trees were gone since there was more room for farming and that soil had not been depleted yet. Instead, the population decrease was caused solely by the Europeans arrival.
Deforestation is a concerning issue that has come about within the past decade that hasn’t been getting much attention. Deforestation is defined as the clearing or removal of a forest or group of trees where the land is not used for forest use afterwards. The land could be used for urbanization, farms, ranches, extra land, or anything that the country needs that piece of land for. Deforestation has become more common and the industry for it has increased rapidly. Although so many people have increased the amount of deforestation, they don’t realize the effects that it can bring upon the world and its environment. Deforestation not only affects the United States, but effects countries all over the world in multiple ways. Each way that
For 25 years, American Forests Global ReLeaf has been responsible for the restorative works of reforesting ecosystems, planting 50 million trees in areas of crucial need. Working in all 50 US States and over 40 countries throughout the world, Global ReLeaf programs have rescued natural wildlife habitats from collapsing due to pests, diseases, deforestation, natural disaster and environmental issues.
Deforestation presents in an abundance of ways, including fires, clear-cutting for agriculture, ranching and development, unsustainable logging for timber, and degradation due to climate change. The foremost reason of deforestation in Latin America is the requirement for food, fuel, shelter, and foreign exchange. Year on year, a space of tropical forest the size of Great Britain is "converted" from an area equal to the size of Europe. Ever since 1950, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), half of the world 's forests have disappeared. “Latin America has lost 37 percent of its tropical forests,” says the FAO. As more and more of Latin American forest are degraded, more and more detrimental effects are being seen. Deforestation is changing a number of resources for tribal groups, altering their way of life, temperatures are increasing at a dangerous rate because of a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, habitats and species such as plants and wildlife are being annexed due to the destructive effects of deforestation. Deforestation is inarguably helpful to supplying money to countries that sell the products from the forest, but huge wealth being generated from the forests comes with large-scale environmental and social costs. The local residences are not benefitting and the funds are being siphoned out of the region.
People have been deforesting the Earth for thousands of years, primarily to clear land for crops or livestock. Although tropical forests are largely confined to developing countries they aren’t just meeting local or national needs.
The Rapa Nui people relied heavily on the islands natural resources for their survival and for generations these resources continued to be consumed at a depleting rate. Caswell (2008) points out how this civilisation was completely oblivious to the destruction they were causing. They contributed to deforestation, stripping the soils of nutrients and exploiting food sources such as populations of
Imagine all the beautiful creatures happily living their days in the forest , resting in the sun and just enjoying their time on Earth. Well ... these peacful animals just got a very rude awakening because someone decide to deforest their area. Deforestation is the process of converting forest lands into non-forested areas. It is estimated that between 50-100 species are lost each day as a reasult of forestry . Deforestation should be stopped , there is no reason to destroy our forest . It is a heartless and selfish thing to do , it needs to be put to a stop for good .
What is happening to the Earth? Our home is becoming a barren mass of sorrow. Most people in America are blind to what is going on. Could it be that every individual is just turning a cheek the other way. America is faced with an extremely serious problem, and if it is not acted upon there will be nothing left on Earth. Hopefully it will still be able to thrive after the numerous accounts of human destruction. Deforestation in America is a huge problem with devastating affects to humans. The root causes of this travesty are mainly the ongoing need to increase America's economic growth, and the idea of frontierism. These two aspects of deforestation tie together well. Together they help define the thought process that Americans have
Some people aren't willing to put in the effort to make this world a greater places. It may not be that they’re stubborn or insensitive to the topic they just might be not up to staus on how serious this whole thing is. Thus meaning some issues that will arise when proceeding to fix deforestation.
Although there are varying definitions of deforestation, this report follows the authority of the UN Food and Agriculture (FAO) defines deforestation as “forest loss where tree cover is reduced to less than 10% of the previously forested area” (CITE)
In some cases, deforestation can be beneficial. Given the right mix of social needs, economic opportunities, and environmental conditions, it can be a rational conversion from one type of land use to a more productive one. The tragedy lies in the fact that most lands that have been deforested in recent decades are not suited for long-term farming or ranching and they quickly degrade once the forest has been cut and burnt. Unlike the fertile soils of temperate latitudes, most tropical forest soils cannot sustain annual cropping. The carrying capacity of the soil will not support intensive annual cropping without rapid, irreversible degradation. Similarly, intensive cattle grazing cannot be supported because