The World As Polder By Jared Diamond - 886 Words

Jared Diamond is a world renowned scientist, author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and currently a geography professor at UCLA. Of his six books published, we will be looking at the last chapter of his fourth book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. In this book Diamond utilizes the comparative method to find resemblance in past societal collapses with our current society. In the chapter entitled, The World as Polder: What Does it Mean to Us Today, Diamond points out that there are indeed many parallels between past and present societies and that our modern day society is currently on a path of self destruction , through examples such as globalization and the interdependency of each country. Diamond opens the chapter using an ironic tone by posing a question regarding the parallels between societies such as the Easter Islands, Henderson Islands, Anasazi, Maya, and Greenland Norse, with our current society, and then answers it as if he was a critic arguing against him. Di amond, in his ironic tone, gives examples such as, deforestation, over harvesting wild animals sources of their protein, topsoil eroding away, building cities in dry areas, and destabilizing wars, to be the major catalyst in the collapsing of these past societies (16). Diamond s use of irony portrays the ignorance of the critics knowledge of today s societal issues, because deforestation, destabilizing wars, over harvesting, building cities in dry areas are all environmental issuesShow MoreRelatedTwo Possible Approaches to Addressing Externatlities Essay1593 Words   |  7 Pageshave talked about the role of government in terms of markets and developing sustainable behaviors. For example, you read about and discussed Hawken’s concept of ‘restoring the guardian;’ Porter’s thesis that we can be â€Å"Green and Competitive;† and Jared Diamond’s argument that our attitude toward government may actually compromise the quality of life we all valu e. Briefly summarize the main points from each of these three authors, particularly in relation to the roles of government and business. WhatRead MoreCollapse, By Jared Diamond1450 Words   |  6 PagesCOLLAPSE by Jared Diamond attempts to answer the question, â€Å"What caused some of the great civilizations of the past to collapse into ruin, and what can we learn from their fates?† This book is divided into four main sections, and I’ll be talking about the most important sections and the most important chapters in it. The first section starts off with Diamond going in to the present in the United States. He starts off with the Bitterroot Valley of Montana. While it seems untouched, with endlessRead MoreThe Environment Is Destroying The Earths Natural Resources1439 Words   |  6 Pagesmillions of people around the world and it will continue to do so. There is no definite solution to this problem, nevertheless as the people of this planet, we can at least do something regarding to it. By using resources in a sustainable way, it will contribute to the survival of society and the Earth. More Babies Create Additional Problems Millions of babies are born around the globe daily. Although the birth of a child is one of the miracles of life, in today’s world it might be a problem. TheRead MoreAnalysis Of The Article The Tragedy Of Common 1727 Words   |  7 Pagesharmful results, desertification and erosion. The herdsmen can see the profit ahead of them, and they also can see the huge damage they have done to the environment, but they choose to ignore it. For human beings, profit is unlimited, but for the whole world, grassland, soil, water, and other kinds of resource are all limited. If we continually keep doing this without control, even if we have more money, we can’t find a solution to make up the damage we have created. Ironically, some rich countries, likeRead MoreThe Evolving Challenges Of Sustainability Between Ancient And Modern Civilisations1777 Words   |  8 PagesThe evolving challenges of sustainability between ancient and modern civilisations. A healthy natural environment is indispensible to the wellbeing of humans everywhere in the world. From the provisioning adequate food, clean water and air, to regulating diseases, ecosystem services and human health depend on conditions of the natural environment. Links between the natural environment and human livelihood are complex. Human resource and land use are structured by limits of the environment. Environmental