What Is Roderick R. Nash's Proposal Of An Island Civilization?

Diamond describes the early parts of human history in a broad scope towards the beginning of the book. He focuses on both the evolution and spread of human beings, arguing that some civilizations had a head start over other ones because of when the period of human evolution took place. He explains how different environments shaped human history through an a example of how populations which inhabited the Polynesian islands developed differently due to the different environments and then by telling the stories about what happened as populations with better geographical advantages encountered more disadvantaged populations in the Americas. Diamond explains the many factors that influenced the historical progression of different societies. Diamond argues how food production was very much a primary factor in the advancement of each society. Societies

These dilemmas brought up in Part II make the Round River essays, inserted as the modern edition’s Part III, titled "A Taste for Country," particularly apt, because this is the section of the book that deals primarily with philosophies. It is here that Leopold states that "poor land may be rich country, and vice versa". It is here that Leopold introduces the concept, radical then but widely accepted now, that the planet itself is a living organism and, through the natural cycles of earth, wind, fire and water, continually replenishes its own means of remaining alive. The human role in this "Round River" ecosystem is prominent, of course, and for thousands of years indigenous people depended directly on the bounty of this natural system to supply their needs of food and fiber. Although modern civilization has been forced by its increasing population to create artificial cycles, replacing elk and deer and grouse with beef and hogs and poultry, and replacing the oaks and bluestem grasses which fed the wild meat with corn and alfalfa.

In Roderick R. Nash’s essay “Island civilization: A vision for human occupancy of earth in the fourth millenium” he quotes “Of course a change like this one [Island civilization] involves compromises with human freedom.” Nashs plan for the future is to make self-sustaining “islands” of civilization. These civilizations would be clusters of the population, and quite similar to cities. His plan also relies on advanced technology that would not harm the Earth and that the “islands” remain isolated from each other. All food production, manufacturing, sanitation, and other services would take place directly within the civilization. This would mean that we as humans would lose many rights that we have had for hundreds of years such as human

Diamond explains that our worst mistake was the transition from hunter-gathers to farmers. Diamond believes that humans were better off chasing our food rather than planting it due to the consequences that followed after such a dramatic change of life. His reasoning expands further out than one might think of about this subject. He talks about the social changes that were created when agriculture began. Diamond spews empowering points that leave a reader pondering if he is correct. People are only sure of how the world is now but the possibilities are endless on what our world could have been if agriculture had not begun.

The transition from the traditional hunter gatherer societies, in to an agriculture based living system, has allowed humans to increase their population size, putting strains on the Earth’s environment. Agriculture has also brought along with it a decrease in women’s roles in the community, while also bringing about a class system where the wealthy rule, and were the weak and poor obey. As humans began to domesticate more plants and animals, they settled in permanent areas. The Change from hunter gatherer benefited few, but had dire consequences for the earth and groups with in it. One such consequence was the population increase, which has lead to major issues throughout history, and one that has ties to current global issues.

One of the most significant mile-stones in the human race is agriculture. Ten-thousand years ago, the practice of farming, cultivating land and soil to produce crops, and domesticating and rearing animals to produce food, wool and other products, opened a door for the beginning of civilization. In the article, “The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race”, written by Jared Diamond, Diamond contradicts the fact that human history has been a long tale of progress. He argues that agriculture is the reason that the human race is cursed with social and sexual inequality, disease, and despotism. Diamond uses many examples to prove his statement.

Roderick Frazier Nash, author of "Island Civilization" wanted to see how the human tenure on Earth could be like a millennium from now. Seeing that the measuring time in thousand years units began in 1582, when the fixed date for Christ was set on December 31, 999, this millennium in present time would be the start of the fourth one. How could humans survive the earth, such as a strategy for occupation that will work in the long run and for the ecosystem."Having such a goal is a vital first step to solving problems" (Nash 372). Surviving the earth, the term "wilderness" may come into place. Having "wilderness" literally means self-willed land, a place where wild animals roam, and where natural processes proceed not bothered by humans. In the

The authors bias opinions are backed up with facts and states that ¨Many of the worst abuses-of land, forests, animals, and communities-have been carried out by ´people who root themselves in ideas rather than opinions´.¨ As a result, he has effectively build his argument to state the migration of individuals can harm rather than subdue our environment. The author, then goes into Rushdie claim that ¨Migrants must, of necessity, make a new imaginative relationship with the world, because of the loss of familiar habitats.¨ This counterexample, in response to Rushdie claim through syntax and backing up his own previous statement, allows the reader to ponder on how can we create a new relationship with the environment, when we keep moving to new territory and doing the same actions there. Hence, why the author gave a prime example of the ¨Dust Bowl¨ and the ¨Spaniards moving into the New World.¨ Plus, the bringing up of the diseases brought by the colonist, shows that the author has thoroughly contemplated on the topics of humanity and our actions.

Nash’s final and perhaps most far fetched idea is “Island Civilization.” He explains taking human civilization away from the large majority of land and containing it into small portions of land, thus removing our presence from the majority of the planets soil to preserve e the wilderness. Nash’s ideas of air cities and underwater cities seem almost impossible. What really seems impossible is that Earth has about 7.2 billion people, and is rapidly growing. Somehow decreasing the birthrate with Nash’s idea, “Limiting (either politically and ethically or biologically with a chip implanted at birth) every woman to the use of one egg for reproduction would in a century bring things back into the balance that Island Civilization demands.” Nash fantasizes about the ideas of no war, no border disputes, and the return of great creatures such as matadors and saber-toothed tigers. One look at human history reveals that our very nature is to expand and desire more for ourselves, than extinct creatures have appropriately earned the title of extinct. “Of course a change like this one involves compromises with human

The first point is that humans will do almost anything to stay alive as a race. An example of this is when one world burns a new world rises from the ashes and a new take on

Since man has evolved from apes, humans have only seen the land for its material value. More specifically, people who are driven by greed and self interest, have consistently taken advantage of the Earth’s limited resources.This relationship is illustrated in familiar pieces of text such as, “Undaunted Courage” by Stephen Ambrose and “On Indian Removal”by former President Andrew Jackson. This topic has extended to more recent articles like, “Is Gentrification a Human Rights Violation?”. Despite overwhelming scientific studies demonstrating the toll that man has reaped on the environment, humans continue to take advantage of and exploit the land for their own economic benefits which has developed a parasitic relationship.

his paper will define and explain the positive and negative impacts that colonization and globalization have had on the Tohono O’odham Indians. I will provide examples from articles found on the cultural survival website on how the O’odham Indians are finding ways to continue to survive in today’s world. Additionally, the location and some historical details about the Tohono O’odham Indians will be discussed.

One of the greatest revolutions in the history of homo sapiens was the adoption of agriculture, which changed the face of communities at every level of class. Though this change was built upon new ideas and allowed us to provide more food for more people, was it in fact a positive change at the time? Today in 2017, we can all look around and see where the agricultural revolution has gotten us in the long run, but authors such as Yuval Noah Harari (2011) claim that during the infancy of the agricultural revolution, life for the average citizen was often a worse one than that of the common forager. A change in food production created many other changes, such as permanent human settlement, biologically unconventional labor, and a larger population density. This paper explores the pros and cons of the agricultural society and the hunter-gatherer society

The humans living in that period were unable to supplement their previous diet, which was rich in protein, and their culture was devastated as a result; this then, is an example of progress (better hunting methods) that led to the failure of an entire culture as its problems were left unsolved. In his third chapter, Wright examines two particular civilizations that thrived but eventually declined due to resource depletion. What is interesting is the similarities that can be drawn from the examples of Easter Island and Sumer, like the widespread ignorance of the masses to actively prevent the abrasion of their land, the perpetual idleness of people to not do anything even when there was enough time to stop the tragic collapse, to current-day situations of people who even flat-out deny climate change and claim it to be part of the left-wing agenda. On Easter Island, it was over-logging that led to their collapse, since as their ecosystem withered away, logging became scarce, and wars broke out for those sparse resources. In Sumer similar environmental destruction occurred (i.e. overgrazing, land clearing), which should alarm the world population of today of what may become of the high levels

Jared Diamond is a professor of Geography at UCLA and a world traveler. He believes that in the past 13,000 years of human history, agriculture has lead humans to conquer, develop and prosper and therefore cause the rise of civilizations. In 1972 he was in New Guinea when he met a local named Yali who asked him a simple question that took years for Diamond to answer. Yali said “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo [goods] and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own”. [Work cited 7] Diamond was profoundly puzzled and couldn’t answer right away. In fact it took him many years to come up with what he thinks is the right answer. ‘Yali’s question’ plays a central role in Professor Diamond’s enquiry into ‘a short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years’, leading him into a wide-ranging discussion of the history of human evolution and diversity through a study of migration, socio-economic and cultural adaptation to environmental conditions, and technological diffusion. (Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel, p. 22-23)